Age of Denial
by Crystalicios
Summary: Nana opened the door but before she left she turned around. "You know, the day I had to rescue you and we made up after everything happened, I thought you changed. But I guess you haven't. You're still the shallow, stupid person I knew you as before. You just never care about anybody but yourself, do you?" A NanaxT.Link fic
1. Prologue

The Age of Denial is something that can happen at anytime and any place. It can happen when you are five, thirty-five, or one hundred and eight. However, It mostly happens to young souls that are starting to learn what life really is. They are confused at whom they should love, and they end up falling for the wrong person, though sometimes they know whom they actually love deep inside their hearts.

To hide their confusion and fear for the one they really love, they either withdraw from the said person, or they make a hate relationship with the person, so that person won't realize the person's true feelings for them. And then usually somebody else comes along and steals the person's heart, leaving the first person alone, and wishing they had revealed their feelings before.

But sometimes it turns out that they eventually fall in love in the end, and there is no ending with their romance.

Or sometimes the person truly falls in love with somebody else, and that's that.

This is a tale of two certain Smashers in a hate relationship. To find out whether they really fall in love with each other, or somebody else, you'll have to read to find out, for this is a story of two souls living in their own Age of Denials.

**A/N: Okay, so this was just the prologue. I know it sounded a bit dramatic, but trust me, it's going to be more lighthearted than _The Test_. Well, I've already have the summaries of 4 chapters written down other than this one, but I'm not going to start this story until I'm done with _The Test._ So until then… You guys are going to have to wait! Anyway, I really don't care much for reviews at the moment, because there isn't much to comment on. But if you see any errors in my prologue or if you saw something that bugged you… PLEASE tell me. Criticism is highly appreciated. If you thought it was boring, too dramatic, or something other, please tell me. **


	2. Can Never Get Along

**Yeah… Umm… I wanted to experiment on Nana/Y.Link for a VERY long time… I don't know why the couple attracts me so! It just… does. . well anyways… This is going to be my "main" fiction for quite awhile. I think it might be my longest yet… Not sure though. I've already written out a summary for each chapter (For once, I decided to be organized XP), which comes to more than 20 chapters! -gasp- But I might be merging chapters together, so it should be less than that. **

**Oh yeah, I'm probably going to be working on a Samus/Marth one while I'm working on this. I only have a vague idea of the plot though, so it might not come out for a couple weeks. Oh yes, since school's started, I might not update in a long time. Yes, so my updating will be slower than it already is. And I might even just leave FF. net for awhile 'cos I heard that half my teachers give a lot of homework. Anyways… Enough of me rambling! On with the show! **

**Disclaimer: Crystalicios will never own Super Smash Bros. in her entire life woe is to me—but not to the rest of the people who enjoy SSB. She does however; own the OC that will be playing a vital role in here. Enjoy! **

**X.X.X **

A snowflake swirled gently to the snowy floor in the frigid wintry air. There was not a breath of wind as Nana Glace lay sprawled face up in the foot deep snow. Ever since she could remember, she enjoyed winter the most. It seemed to have a magical aura about it. Snowball fights, snowmen, ice-skating… Winter was truly a unique season to Nana.

Nana closed her eyes, as she felt the snowflake land gently between her eyes. She hadn't felt it land, but she felt it melting due to her body heat. She breathed in slowly, the memory of last year hitting her painfully anew. Today, a definite gloom had settled over her. She remembered that tragedy had struck on the exact same day as today, except it had occurred last year. She still hadn't gotten over it, though everybody else who knew about it had. She probably never would get over it. A wave of despair fell over her, as she recounted the day she received the news of _It_.

"Nana! It's cold! Can't we go in now?" A feminine voice whined. Nana rolled her eyes irritably. She ignored the voice that came from the steps of Smash Mansion.

"Na-naaaa!" The undeterred voice sounded again, "If we don't go in, then my lips will crack! And not even Chap Stick will help. And the cold is making my hair dry and brittle!"

Nana sighed, "Can't we stay for fifteen minutes longer?" She asked. She already knew the answer, but she asked anyway.

"You've already had your fifteen minutes!" the voice half snapped half whined, "C'mon, I'm freezing, and this cold is making me unattractive by the second!" Nana sighed and thought to herself, _Why does she always care about her appearance? Can't she lay off for a while? _

"Just because you really don't care how you look doesn't mean I don't care either!" She said as though reading Nana's thoughts. Nana sighed again, and sat up from the snow, shaking out the powdery white stuff from her brown hair.

It was true; Nana wasn't girly and didn't care about her appearance. Her weight was normal, and she was a little short for her age which really annoyed her. She had dark eyes, almost coal-like, and messy medium toned brown hair that never really stood how she wanted it, which she really didn't mind. She had tanned skin from always being outside, and her cheeks were somehow always flushed from excitement or the result of whatever mood she was currently in. She stood up and stretched before beating off all the snow that clung to her traditional clothes and boots. Then she turned around toward her best friend, Lola Wasser.

Lola had only joined the Super Smash Brothers last year, but she was already used to the Mansion's customs. Lola was only two months younger than Nana, but she looked two years older than Nana. She was definitely taller than Nana by about five inches, and she'd already matured into what seemed like a 15 year old. She had an attractive figure, and her skin was snow white after all those beauty tips she'd read in various magazines such as "Seventeen". She really had coal black eyes like Nana, but always wore dark blue contacts to make her look prettier. She had feathery black hair parted to the side ("The latest trend," she'd told Nana, "is parting your bangs to the side… it fits me rather nicely, don't you think?" while flipping "Cosmo Girl's" pages), that reached just above her waist. And her face already had lost all the baby fat, giving it a lithe look; like that of a panther.

As Nana looked at Lola she wondered if Lola remembered that this day was when tragedy struck last year. After all, Lola should've been hit the hardest… It was one of the reasons she wanted to join Super Smash Bros.

"You couldn't even give me fifteen more minutes!" Complained Nana, as she brushed off the snow from her hair. She sat down on the steps leading to the door and started scraping the snow off her shoes.

"What? And risk my skin getting cracks in them?" Lola pouted, "That would be a complete disaster," she giggled suddenly, "Un disastro!"

"Speaking Italian, are we?" Nana asked, grinning, "We don't even take Italian!"

"I know," replied Lola lightly, "but I just wanted to show off. I heard somebody say it—I think it was Mario—and I like using that phrase." She winked.

"As usual," Nana replied with a smile on her face. They sat there in the cold, talking and laughing together, and then the subject came on today's match.

"I think its Ness versus Young Link. Who d'you think is gonna win?" Lola asked.

Nana wrinkled her nose and replied immediately as if there was no question about it, "Ness, hands down. Young Link can't fight for beans. And I've seen Ness. He's been getting better at his psychic powers."

Lola smiled faintly at Nana's sudden outburst. Then she replied, "Are you saying that because you don't like Link? Or just for some other reason?"

Nana shrugged, "I like his older self. He's really nice and knows when to keep his mouth shut. I just don't understand how his younger self is nothing like his older. He's so…" she fisted her hands in aggravation, "immature! And anyway, you know we can't get along." Lola smirked at this but didn't comment. Unfortunately Nana saw Lola's smirk, which made her even more annoyed. Every time Lola smiled like that, it meant she was thinking of something that would make Nana angrier. Nana forced herself to calm down and asked, "So what about you? Who do you think is going to win?"

Lola brushed her bangs back nonchalantly, "Young Link. I've seen him on the practice field. He beat his own record of the course just last week! Anyway" she said her sly grin wider, "He beat you last week!"

Nana grumbled at the painful memory, "And I beat him the week before! Besides, the match was close, and if he didn't do his stupid "Spinning Slash" attack, I would've beat him."

Lola shook her head amusedly and muttered, "Nana, you are impossible." Nana rolled her eyes at Lola. Sometimes, she hated the way Lola always acted superior to her.

She imitated Lola's voice and said, "Lola, you're the impossible one!"

Lola gave her a dry look, and merely looked at the frozen lake with a misty look in her eye. "Nana?" She asked in a small voice.

"Yeah?" Nana asked nervously. So Lola _did_ remember after all. Nana could tell by her voice. Nana didn't want to talk about it though. Even though Lola was probably more hurt than Nana by the incident, Nana could not offer any words of solace for her fellow Eskimo friend; her own wound was too painful.

"Do… do you remember? Do you remember what happened last year?" Lola asked, striving hard to keep her voice from cracking.

There was an awkward silence as Nana tried to find her voice. "Yes." She managed to say.

Lola turned her face from the beautiful frozen scenery to look at Nana. Nana was surprised to find in Lola's now vulnerable blue eyes, filled with tears.

"Lola?" She asked.

"I know I'm s-supposed to g-get over it. A-and I did! But today, it seems as if I'm experiencing it all over again. Am I…" Lola fought to control her voice before continuing, "…am I just… being overdramatic and weak? Is this normal?"

Nana leaned her elbows on her slightly drawn knees and rested her face on her fists. "I'm just as sad as you are, Lola. I mean… I wonder… I wonder how I would've been if it hadn't happened. Would I be like I am today? And would you be here?" Nana rested her hand comfortingly on Lola's shoulder.

Lola sighed deeply and turned to hug her best friend. "You always think of the positive side," she gave a lopsided grin at Nana.

Nana forced a smile back and thought to herself, _only for you Lola. Only for you…_

"Well? Shall we go in? Or do you need some more comforting?" Nana grinned.

"No," Lola said, and wiped her eyes on her sleeve, "Thanks though."

Nana just smiled and got up and waited for Lola to get up. As they walked up the steps and as Lola was reaching for the handle to open the big door to Smash Mansion, it was forcefully pushed open from the inside, causing Lola to lose her balance and would've fell if Nana hadn't caught her. Swearing angrily, Lola shouted, "Who in the world, opens a door like that? I could've died! Or worse, you could've scarred my face for life! What do you have to…?" She stared at the person at the door and gave a sheepish grin.

"Say for myself?" finished Young Link, who was wearing a small smile on his lips. Nana, who was holding herself in a relaxed position suddenly stiffened, and twisted her smile into a frown so Young Link would know that Nana didn't wish to see him.

Young Link wasn't always dressed in the green cloak that he was wearing now. A familiar green cap was perched on his shiny blonde hair, and his blue eyes stuck out mischievously from them. He was of normal height for his age—about Lola's height, and he had slightly tanned skin. He was a bit on the scrawny side, but nevertheless he was still powerfully with his sheathed sword that was currently hidden in his cloak. He wore his typical brown fingerless gloves, and his lips were stretched into a grin.

"You could've broken my nose," Lola grumbled, but it was obvious that she was trying to keep from smiling.

"Ooh… That'd be a tragedy." Snapped Nana. Her mood had suddenly turned sour. Every minute Lola spent talking or lecturing Young Link was another minute ruined in Nana's life.

Lola glared at Nana's remark, and Young Link said stiffly, "Nana."

"Young Link," Nana said just as formal and stiff as the Hylian. Then she couldn't resist muttering under her breath, "The Stupid One."

Lola burst into laughter and Young Link retorted heatedly, "At least I don't have _your_ label, O Ugly One."

"Brains beat beauty any day. At least I have that," Nana replied smoothly, trying not to show how annoyed she was.

"Which is why Popo told me you got a D on last week's Pre-Algebra quiz?" Young Link said with a smug smile.

Nana mentally cursed Popo. _How dare he tell Link about my test!_ She seethed. But on the outside she said, "Talking about grades? Why Lola told me that you got the same grade in English, darling!" she snarled, throwing her arm around an embarrassed Lola.

Young Link flushed scarlet and said, "Well, I never said I was smart. But at least I admitted it. You on the other hand…" He trailed off the sentence, making it sound worse than it actually was.

"You're such a brat," Nana said menacingly.

"Thank you Nana. It beats being you any time," Young Link said, while grinding his teeth furiously.

"Um… guys?" Lola asked timidly in the midst of them.

They both glared daggers at her and then faced each other and started yelling insults at each other as though a dam of emotions had exploded.

"Popinjay!" Nana yelled at the top of her lungs, remembering that Master Hand had once called Lola that when she'd been talking obsessively about some breakup between two celebrities that nobody really cared about.

"Idiot!"

"Moronic fool!"

"Nimrod!" He furiously retorted.

"SHUT UP!" Lola screamed. And it was so loud it echoed clearly across the sky.

They shut up immediately.

Satisfied that her voice made them quiet, she asked Young Link in an innocent voice as if she never yelled at them a second ago, "Is there a reason to why you came out?"

Young Link resumed his stiff posture and said grudgingly, "Master Hand wants every Smasher in the dining hall to make an announcement. I am to escort you and the monster standing beside you, to the dining hall."

Nana opened her mouth angrily but Lola stomped on her foot with all her force causing Nana to emit a strangled, "Oomph."

Young Link gave an innocent sweet smile at Nana who grimaced and wrinkled her nose in distaste and pain in her foot. She could feel her first three toes throbbing uncomfortably and painfully. _Lola's gonna pay… _she thought darkly.

"Okay, well, we're coming anyway," Lola said.

"Good," Young Link said, and swung the door open. He held the door open for Lola, but when Nana tried to go through he smiled meanly at her and let the door shut in her face.

"ARRRRGHHH!" She screamed. "What is his problem!" She fumed angrily outside for a couple of minutes calling him every foul word she could think, and she even called him some made-up ones.

Then she swung the door open so hard that it slammed against the wall and ricochet off of it. Nana walked in and slammed it so hard that the poor door quivered in its place.

Lola and Young Link were waiting at the end of the carpeted corridor. Lola was giving Nana the scathing control-your-temper look, and Young Link had raised an eyebrow at her, giving her a malicious look that wasn't properly concealed behind a bewildered look.

"Can't you quicken the pace?" Young Link asked irritably.

"Do you want to meet the end of my hammer?" Nana asked sweetly, and dangerously. She gripped the handle of her mallet.

Young Link really didn't want to, but that didn't prevent him from chickening out and not saying, "Do you want to meet my sword's blade? I heard it's far sharper than your weapon."

"And do you want to hear me really scream much louder than before? Unless you want a headache, I don't think you do." Lola interjected impatiently.

She waved her hand to indicate to follow her. Because Lola and Young Link had longer legs than Nana, they took longer strides, making Nana lag behind making her seem like the idiot of the bunch.

She looked up just in time to see Young Link giving her a superior look. He being taller than her created the effect better. She shot him the meanest glare she could muster, and quickened her pace, slightly panting in the effort to keep up with the purple clad Ice Climber and the green garbed Kokiri.

Finally they reached the Dining Hall's door, and as Nana reached forward to open the door, Young Link knocked her hand away to open it.

"Your hand might contaminate it," he sneered down at Nana who flushed angrily.

"That's enough," Lola stated, stepping between them firmly with the air of a teacher reprimanding two children for being naughty.

The tension between Nana and Young Link was so thick you could cut it with a butter knife. Actually, it was always like that. Nana and Young Link normally ignored each other, because they could never get along. But sometimes when there were days like this where they were forced to stay together, they argued over nothing. It was like the air made them so disagreeable toward each other. They simply couldn't get along.

It had been like that ever since they'd joined the Super Smash Bros. Ever since Young Link pulled a prank on her by pouring glue on the train seat. It was by extreme luck that Nana had to be the one to sit there. It had taken hours trying to unstuck her buttocks from the sticky mess, and in the end, they had to cut part of her pants off. As a result, an embarrassed Nana had to present herself to everybody with her underwear showing because she hadn't gotten a chance to change. It still brought tears of mirth to everybody who recalled that memory. Even Master Hand was amused by the whole thing!

Young Link opened to door a little more forcibly than intended and Nana had to quickly side-step to get out of the door's way. In response to Young Link's rude behavior she quickly walked out the door first, stepping on Young Link's foot as hard as possible and heard a pained hiss escape his lips that was like music to Nana's ears.

They all sat end row, at the last seats. Lola sat between them, in an attempt to create peace. It worked effectively, and all Nana and Young Link could do was throw rude raspberries, and stick out their tongues at each other.

When Master Hand cleared his throat that was when they stopped.

"Most of you that were here last year, know what I'm going to say. As December approaches, so does a certain special event." He paused, to create an aura of mystery.

It really didn't work.

Master Hand seemed to realize this because he added gruffly, "Each year, we hold a grand masquerade ball. This year is no exception. As you all know, this is just to raise money, in order to buy er… more necessary things."

_Excellent… I need a room of my own. Bowser snores like a thunderstorm and sometimes shoots flames from his nostrils and Ganondorf sleep talks about things that would ruin his "evil" image at night. I can't concentrate on my meditation, because of them. _Mewtwo projected his thought across the room in his cynical voice.

Snickers were heard across the room as Bowser blushed madly and sunk into his seat. Ganondorf called out loudly, "Who cares about us? Do you want me to tell everybody what I caught you doing in front of the mirror yesterday?"

_I wasn't doing the Bunny Hop Dance, if you still think that, _Mewtwo said flatly, but his usually composed face was a little pink, _it was a form of meditation!_

By now, everybody was outright laughing. The ones who weren't were just chatting to one another.

Finally, Master Hand thundered, "BE QUIET!" and everybody shut up. "Thank you," he said in a more quiet voice, "Everybody is invited at the cost of $50 dollars per person. The dining hall will be enchanted to accommodate everybody, so don't worry about that. So far a lot of people are coming. I think about forty, last time I checked… Yes Link?" He indicated the teenage Hylian who was sitting next to Zelda.

"Is Saria coming?" He asked breathlessly.

"Yes, she is," Master Hand replied.

"What about Ruto?" He asked.

"Yes, she is coming also."

"And Malon?" Link persisted, amid Zelda's narrowed eyes that portrayed jealousy at him.

"Yes! All your other girlfriends are coming!" An irate Master Hand exclaimed.

Link blushed and mumbled something like, "…Just friends…"

"As usual, Peach is in charge of the decorations because she likes all that stuff…" Master Hand said.

Peach gave a superior look to everybody, and Roy sniggered behind her back.

"Ness is in charge of the supplies and guest list… because he's a nerd," Master Hand declared.

Ness protested, "Am not!" and Nana felt her cheeks grow warm at his voice.

"And whoever else wants to be in charge of it, don't hesitate to ask," Master Hand yawned. Then he clicked his fingers and vanished mysteriously.

"I'll bet you wouldn't mind taking Ness out to the dance," Nana felt Lola whisper it in her ear.

"Hm…?" Nana asked looking at the PSI boy.

"Ness? You like him… don't you?" Lola asked coyly.

"No!" Nana protested, averting her gaze from Ness.

"Just pick who you like carefully…" Lola smirked.

"I know whose good enough for me and—Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Nana snapped.

Lola just gave one of her knowing smiles.

Nana sighed. She didn't even want to go to the dance in the first place. The last five years she had been here, she never went. She preferred to play her Game Cube with Ness, Popo, and Young Link. This was Lola's first time having the masquerade ball though, and Nana knew Lola would undoubtedly convince Nana to come one way or the other.

As Nana thought of Ness and the ball, she couldn't help thinking of what happened last year this very same day. And she really didn't know why. She only wished that this would be the last time she would think about it for a long time.

Her wish wouldn't be granted. That very memory would haunt her in a matter of weeks

**X.X.X**

**END OF CHAPTER 1**

**I know that this was only 10 pages long, but school's just started and I've already gotten so much homework. I'm already taking an AP course which really sucks. So updates will be slower. **

**As for Lola Wasser, before you suggest it, she's not a Mary-Sue. I thought her out really carefully. And I also ran her through the Mary-Sue litmus test, before writing her in here. She scored as an 18 which means she's a Non-Sue. So yay to that.**

**As I've said before, I've already written a summary of each chapter (except the last one, which really doesn't need a summary). I just wanted to see how good my stories were if I detailed out the plot. You could call this a sort of an experiment XP.**

**Alright… review please! I can't express how much I'd appreciate if you reviewed. Criticism, is of course, highly appreciated as well, so long as it's constructive. Flames are allowed, but I'm not in favor of them. **


	3. Watch What's Inside the Snowball

**I would first off, like to start off with: Sorry. Sorry. Sorry!**

**I was so caught up with school that I sort of forgot that I had a story going on here! And it's the month of Ramadan, which means –gasp- fasting. Yep. So the updates are going to be slower. Sorry guys. Sorry! Okay, I should shut up now.**

**Well… Here is chapter two! Hope you guys like it!**

**Disclaimer: Well… I don't own SSBM… You guys should celebrate.**

**X.X.X**

There were people all around Nana talking about the Ball, right after Master Hand had disappeared. Some excited, others dejected.

"…Never, _ever_ going to wear a dress! They are _so_ evil!" Samus exclaimed.

"But Marth's counting on you!" Peach said exasperated, as if she were in Samus's shoes.

"…Meet that chick I met online," Captain Falcon was telling Ness who immediately started telling Captain Falcon the dangers of meeting random people online.

As Nana stared at Link who was trying desperately to convince a Zelda who was putting on a falsely happy face that Malon, Ruto and Saria were not his girlfriends, she listened to what Lola was telling Young Link.

"I'm so psyched about going!" Lola said, color blossoming into her cheeks as she thought about ways to doll herself up.

Nana grimaced to herself. Undoubtedly on the day of the Ball, Lola would make sure Nana would be there to help her.

"I think it's a waste of time," Young Link disagreed, "I've never been to one. But–"

"How can you say that?!" Lola cut him off, staring at him as though he'd just proven her that the world was flat, "The dancing, and the music in your ears! Dressing up, looking your best! And it's so…" she sighed dreamily, "romantic…"

Nana rolled her eyes as she pretended to be interested in what Marth was telling Popo.

"Nana agrees with me… don't you Nana?" Lola asked.

Nana pretended that she really wasn't following Lola's conversation, "Mmm? Yeah, sure, whatever."

Lola's shoulders slumped. And Young Link smirked and meanly said, "Of course, Nana is just saying that. I can bet that she can't dance for a million bucks. And her dress sense is looking like she never slept for days. And as for romance?" He made a _phtt_ noise, "The only romance she's gonna have is with her fifty something cats she's going to have when she grows old and wrinkly. In other words… nobody'll be crazy enough to go out with _her_."

Nana flared up at once, "Dancing! Hah! What about you, forest boy?! And you're talking about _my_ dress sense? At least I'm not the one wearing a skirt with some stupid elf cap on my head. And nobody would ever fall in love with you. You have the biggest ego I've ever met looking as ugly as you are!"

Young Link wrinkled his pointy nose at her and stuck his tongue out. Then he smiled in a superior fashion and calmly said, "Nana, Nana, _Nana_. Don't be jealous. Just because I'm far more handsome than you'll ever know…"

Nana made a face and shot back, "Excuse me while I retch out all my insides," and she mock-gagged.

Young Link smiled coldly at her, "Ha ha. You are so funny; I think I should die laughing at your humor if I don't die of boredom first!" With that, the young Kokiri kid jumped to his feet and strode out, as smooth as an angry person could, taking care to tread hard on Nana's foot.

Nana bit her tongue as his boot crushed over her toes. She felt like screaming but she would rather die than scream out in pain when Young Link was present.

Lola sighed and brushed her hair out of her face carefully. She would rather have Nana and Young Link ignore each other, like they did a couple weeks ago. All this fighting started just recently, and she was tired of being caught in the middle. Still… Nana was more of her friend.

By now, nobody was present in the Dining Hall except for Peach and Zelda whom were discussing what they should wear to the Ball.

"Shall we go?" Lola asked, trying hard to overlook Nana's red face and watering eyes that were the result of trying not to scream.

"Sure," Nana said in a voice that clearly suggested straying far away from the subject of Young Link.

By now, it was a late afternoon and most of the Smashers were outside trying to get some fresh air. After many minutes of begging and whining, a grudging Lola decided to go.

**X.X.X**

"C'mon… Pleaase?!" Lola asked for the umpteenth time.

Nana inhaled the crisp, refreshing air and exhaled what remained of it through her mouth, watching the cloud of vapor escape from her lungs and plume delicately into the air. It dissolved almost as soon as it came out.

"For the last time… no!" Nana irritably replied. She was starting to wonder why she'd ever become Lola's friend.

Nana felt her ice boots crush the wet snow beneath her. She braced herself for what Lola would do next…

"It _will_ be fun! You've never been to a ball, so how would you know if it was boring?"

"Three things: Dresses. Dancing. Lola," Nana said, annoyed.

"That's not funny," Lola frowned crossing her arms over her chest, "Seriously though…Why not?"

Nana decided to tell her the real reason behind it. She sighed, "Those _are_ the reasons why. Things like dresses and make up look bad on me. I don't see any point of dolling yourself up. I mean… you won't stay like that forever. And besides, I usually mess up my makeup and tear those evil dresses that itch more than poison ivy. I've never learned how to dance, and never will. And I know that if I go to the Ball, the only person I'll hang out with is _you_! And most likely, you're going to be dancing, or flirting, or doing something that doesn't involve me!" she ended her sentence in a snap. She watched Roy and Peach, arm in arm, sitting by the frozen lake, gazing at something.

For some reason, the scene made her even more worked up. Her eyes swept the scene. Almost everybody was outside. Except for a couple people; Link, Zelda, Mr. Game & Watch, DK and Mewtwo.

"You don't have to dance! You can just… socialize!" Lola protested.

"Socialize? Oh yeah? With who? You'll be off dancing. I just don't… do dances. Ya know?" Nana asked.

"No, I don't," retorted a ticked off Lola, "Why not? I'm sure you'd look gorgeous if I just dressed you up—"

"No! No! NO!" Nana roared, "No way josé. You can't convince me to go to a stupid ball, wear a stupid dress, and go to a stupid ball."

Lola frowned. But she didn't comment. Then she thought of something. She sighed, "Nana… You are a thirteen year old girl. Don't you _want_ to partake in any of this stuff? It's supposed to be exciting for girls. Don't you want to meet that special _someone_?"

Nana let out a huffy sigh, "No. I don't want to beautify myself using fake products. I don't find anything exciting about standing stiffly, taking care not to mess up anything. And for once, Young Link was partially right. There _is_ no special someone for me. And, as far as I'm concerned, that's fine with me. I don't want to fall in love, and then end up with mine or _his_ heart broken."

But as Nana said this, her gaze subconsciously slipped over to Ness. His black eyes were as intense as they looked at Popo and Young Link. Then he laughed. His laugh was like a chuckle and it made her feel very warm inside. His black bangs brushed out of his forehead, and a gust of wind blew off his cap. Using his psychic powers, he returned it to his head. Everything about him just seemed—

"Nana?! Earth to NANA!" Lola waved a hand about a millimeter from her face.

Nana snapped back to reality and grumbled something incoherent to Lola who didn't even try to comprehend.

"Were you in Lover's Lane?" She asked, an eyebrow raised, "The great tomboy Nana!"

"Shut up," retorted an annoyed Nana. This thing about Ness happened very often. She didn't know when. All she knew was that every time she saw him, she'd gawk for about a second or two and snap back to reality.

"Let me guess, the person who you like is—"

_**SPLAT!**_

"ARGHHH!! My beautiful face. RUINED! RUINED I TELL YOU! WHY THE HECK DID YOU… ARGGHHHH!!" Lola clawed at her face, desperately ridding herself of the snow that Nana had pelted at. It slopped onto her fur jacket. She screamed in dismay.

"THIS WAS FROM ORANGE BOUTIQUE! D'YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH IT COSTED!"

Nana smirked at her. When Lola really annoyed Nana, this is what usually happened. And it was very satisfying to see her like this.

The water suddenly squelched out of her jacket. It swirled in the air for awhile.

Where was it coming from?

Ness.

The boy was fighting hard to conceal an expression of uttermost amusement. He transported the water and let it loose at Popo, who immediately dodged it.

"Ah… Thanks Ness," Lola said, embarrassed at the spectacle she created.

"No problem, Lol. Anytime," He grinned at her.

_His grin is so… perfect. _She didn't care if it wasn't aimed at her.

"It's Lol_a_. Not Lol. Lol_a_. Lol sounds really lame," she said icily.

"Lola!" Nana said, embarrassed at her friend's reaction.

"Yeah sure, Lol-_a_," Ness's grin was still there, "You sure know better than me."

Popo sighed, "Sometimes, I think you're worse than Peach, Lola. It was only a bit of snow. No harm done."

"A _bit_ of snow! That _bit_ of snow, could've destroyed my perfect complexion _AND_ outfit. That's what a _bit_ of snow can do, mister."

"Yeah… We'll keep that in mind…" Young Link muttered sarcastically. Nana almost snorted at the comment before realizing it was Young Link who said it.

"I'm sorry, Lola…" she said earnestly. She knew that if she sounded sincere, Lola would feel guilty and snap about it.

And sure enough, "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Stop being so emotional about it! Jeez!"

Ness and Popo laughed along with Nana. She met Ness's gaze for only a moment. His eyes were… lovely.

She forced her eyes away from his, trying not to blush.

"So… Who are you taking to the ball?" Nana heard Popo ask Young Link and Ness.

"I don't know… I was thinking about Paula…" Ness ignored Popo, Young Link and Lola's wolf whistles, "But seeing as we're only friends…" he trailed off.

"Yeah sure… that's what they all say…" Lola rolled her eyes good naturedly.

Ness hit her on the shoulder and Lola yowled, "Ow! That really hurt!"

Nana wished they wouldn't start on the ball; it was starting to irritate her. And what irritated her more was the fact that Lola was egging Ness on about Paula.

"I don't even want to go to the ball…" Young Link said.

Though Nana didn't want to, she agreed with what Young Link had to say.

"Don't want to? Or because you don't have anybody to go with, and you're going to make a fool of yourself?" Popo smirked.

Young Link started to agree before he realized what Popo was saying. "Hey! What about you? It's not like you have anybody!"

Popo shrugged mysteriously, "Maybe I do, and maybe I don't."

Nana raised an eyebrow at this. Popo actually liked somebody? She could not imagine anybody perfect enough for her brother.

"Oooh! Who is it?" Lola asked in her gossipy tone.

Popo grinned, "Like I would really tell you, O Mighty Gossipness?"

Lola pouted and put on her best puppy-dog eyes, but Popo was undeterred.

"So then, Lola's going to the ball. What about you Nana?" Ness asked.

"I don't want to go either," Nana said, "I mean… it's really boring…"

"And she doesn't know how to act properly in a ball…" added on Young Link in a mutter.

Nana felt a flush grow on her cheeks. She opened her mouth to retort, but Popo silenced her with a look. Nana mutinously looked at Young Link who gave her a sarcastic sweet look back.

The three boys turned to leave, and with each step they took, Nana's anger ebbed away also. And suddenly a thought occurred to Nana. It would be very fun to start a snowball fight. And who better to start it with than Ness? It might capture his attention!

She subconsciously reached down, and picked up a sizable chunk of snow that was all lumped on the floor. She packed it.

Aimed…

Fired…

And it would've hit its target, were it not for Ness's ability to sense things before they actually came in contact with him. He quickly ducked and instead it hit Young Link.

But instead of exploding into a powdery winter land on his hair, it created a dull _thud!_ And Nana saw a chunk of hard ice falling to the floor.

Young Link froze and then slowly sunk to the floor, completely conked out.

Everybody acted immediately.

Lola yelled bloody murder. Ness crawled over to Young Link to check if he was okay. And Popo… he was looking at Nana.

_Uh oh… I'm going to get into _so_ much trouble for this! How was I supposed to know that there was this big hunk of ice in there? Link is gonna be so pissed when he reawakens!_ Nana thought. She felt a weight of dread hit her right in the gut.

"Nana?! Did you do this on purpose?" Popo yelled at her.

"No…" Nana responded shakily.

Meanwhile Lola was hyperventilating for some strange reason. She seemed to think Nana was trying to kill Young Link. "I can't believe you could just hit him with that? D'you know he could've become mentally retarded?"

_More than he already is? I don't think so…_ Nana thought sarcastically, but didn't comment aloud.

"…ashamed of yourself! He was just this poor little innocent soul! I could've understood if he was trying to attack you…"

_He attacks me even when I see him…_

"…I can't believe I thought I was your friend!"

_Really? Likewise._

"NANA! ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?!" Lola bellowed into Nana's ear.

"It's hard not to…" Nana muttered. Why was everybody making such a big deal of it? Young Link would be okay… hopefully. Or not.

Lola roared, "That's it! I've had it with you! You're always the smart mouth! You never take me seriously! Why do you…"

Why was Lola being such a nagging twit? Sheesh. You'd think that Young Link and she were married, and Young Link had just died.

Nana looked at Lola, not saying anything. Simply watching. She wasn't listening to what Lola was saying. She noted Lola's popping eyes and her veins that stood out on her red neck, as she yelled insults at Nana. Every time that mouth moved, Nana grew more irritated.

Most of the time, Nana just kept quiet throughout the whole time Lola did this to her. Most of the time, Nana just watched with her eyebrows slightly frowning, and her eyes looking intensely at Lola, with her arms crossed and her mouth in a straight line.

This time was different. Lola was taking it a bit too far and a bit too serious.

"Will you shut up for a minute?! I think I know what just happened, thanks. I'm not a fool. It was an accident. It's not the end of the world. And he'll live. You don't need to tell me like I'm deaf and deranged. You always do this to me. I hate how you treat me, like you're my mum. Wait no… you're worse than my mum. You're only three months older than me, not twenty years. Keep that in mind. _You aren't the boss of me_."

Every thought of resentment that she was thinking poured out in those icy statements. She stared coldly at Lola. The atmosphere, cold as it was, turned even more chilly.

And then there was that awkward silence that nobody dared to interrupt. It lasted for about two minutes. Lola and Nana's eyes were locked in an intense battle, neither one daring to look away. Popo seemed pretty timid at telling them to break it up.

It was Ness that broke it. He cleared his throat and said, "I need somebody to help me bring Link to the Hospital Wing. He's only been knocked unconscious."

Lola and Popo instantly jumped up and rushed over to the PSI kid. Popo and Ness each slung one arm that belonged to Young Link over their shoulders and dragged them. Lola fixed Nana with one last icy glare. Then she left.

By now the place was deserted. Nobody was there. Nana felt an overwhelming emotion of anger.

She didn't know exactly why, but tears started welling up in her eyes. Not tears of sadness. But of frustration. It was one of those rare times she'd stood up to Lola. And every time, she felt like she'd consumed all her energy and still felt like nothing was solved.

She stared at the empty landscape. She looked to the forest on her right side. The mansion was always surrounded on the right and left side by a vast forest. And then there was a massive lake that was sandwiched right in the back of the mansion.

Subconsciously she headed for the woods. She entered it wandering around the area. The trees had a dead look to them, since their leaves had long withered away. There was no sign of life in the woods; the birds had migrated long before, and almost all the animals were hibernating save for a few bunnies here and there.

The loneliness of the wood did nothing to improve Nana's frustration. The place was almost as empty as to what she felt. Would she be expelled, if Master Hand thought it wasn't her fault? Why was everybody overreacting to this? It wasn't _that_ bad.

Or was it? Did Nana intentionally want to hit Young Link? Was she really _that_ mean?

_No…_ said a small, timid voice in her head at the same time a particularly vicious voice snarled, _yes!_

Nana grabbed her head and the voices vanished. And all of a sudden the memory when she first met Young Link popped into her head.

_**FLASHBACK**_

_Nana and Popo were one of the last to board the bus. They'd walked all the way to the base of Icicle Mountain, waiting and waiting to get in. Finally a gray bus with the Super Smash Bros. Logo stamped in red came to a halt._

_The sister and brother boarded the bus, and Nana could feel her excitement and nervousness mounting. Who would she sit next to? It was a rare moment to come in contact with a human she'd never known. The only humans she'd met were Lola's family, and her own. Those were the only ones she'd come in contact into._

_But this bus was _full _of people!_

…_And some weren't even people!_

_She looked at a blue haired man who was stuffing his fingers into his ears because his friend, a redhead was shouting furiously at a blonde girl who looked like she could've been Lola's twin, when it came to personality. The girl sitting next to this blonde sighed wearily. She looked nice enough, but she didn't look human. Rather, her ears were pointy and there was something about her that just didn't seem human._

_Finally, she thought she saw an adjacent seat, but when she was about to sit there, something squeaked indignantly at her, and Nana felt her hindquarters get electrocuted. She bolted up and stared at the tiny creature._

"_Pi… Chu. Chu!"_

"_Er… I'm sorry…" Nana replied, feeling terribly stupid because she didn't know what the electric mouse was saying. _

"_Chuuu…" the creature said grumpily, crossing its arms._

_Nana sighed. She didn't want to stand._

_She looked over at Popo who was already chatting amicably with another kid, who was sipping some milk that said 'LON LON MILK' on the bottle he was drinking from.._

_The kid had blonde hair, but like the girl with the pointy ears, he looked different. A cap sat on his head, obscuring all his hair, except for his golden bangs. Blue, mischievous eyes roved around the bus. Then they stopped at Nana._

_He looked nice enough, Nana decided, as he smirked at her, and she smiled back._

"_Are ya gonna stand all day?" the bus driver asked grumpily. He seemed to be in a horrible mood. Nana didn't blame him. If she smelled like she hadn't bathed in two days, she would've been in the same state too._

_Nana stumbled over to the back. Finally! An empty seat! Right next to Popo too. At least she wouldn't look like an idiot, just standing there._

_She hurried over, not even checking the seat._

_Right when she sat down, she felt and heard a squelching noise._

_**SQUIIISHHH!!**_

_The boy sitting next to Popo let out a scream of derisive laughter. He rolled around his seat; laughing so hard tears ran down his cheeks._

_Nana got up… but found she couldn't! She was glued to her seat! And it was pretty strong stuff too!_

_Nana felt like crying. It was only the first day, and she already felt like going home._

"_Link! What did you do now?!" The pointy-eared woman asked, turning around in her seat._

"_Me?" the boy who seemed to be named Link, "Nothin'. I accidentally spilled some super glue on the chair. I was going to warn her, but everything happened so fast…" he said innocently._

_The girl rolled her eyes at the story and turned to Nana, "I'm sorry, Young Link can be such a pain. He always does this. You were just unlucky."_

_Nana looked at her. She seemed to have the same features as that boy, "Are you brother and sister?" she asked._

_The older girl laughed, "No. But I happen to know him very well. He's a younger version of this boy I'm very close friends with. Trust me; they're nothing alike, except for their looks."_

_Nana smiled. This girl seemed so nice! _

_The girl got up from her seat and, walked over to Nana, and sat next to her._

"_On the count of three, get up. Okay?"_

"_But I can't…" Nana whined._

"_I know. I'm going to help you," the girl smiled._

"_But how…"_

"_I have certain powers that let me…" the teenager smiled mysteriously, "One… Two… THREE!"_

_Nana tugged. _

_**RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP!!**_

_The teenager gasped. Nana clapped her hands over her bottom, and blushed a deep red. The fabric that had come in contact with the glue had ripped off completely, exposing her underwear._

"_Oops…" the teen said._

_Young Link stared for awhile. For a minute, he seemed to want to apologize. He _did_ look a little sorry. But before he could say anything Nana had enough from the impish boy._

"_How DARE you!?" She snarled, "You will pay for this!"_

_Young Link opened his mouth, but Nana cut him off, "Y'know just what you need? THIS!" and she grabbed the bottle from his hand and poured its contents onto his head._

_Young Link sputtered. The rest of the bus laughed. Popo looked disapprovingly at both of them._

_That day, everybody saw the orange fabric of Nana's underwear, and they saw a scowling milk-soaked boy. Both of them carefully avoided each other._

_Ever since that day, neither one has been on good terms with the other._

_**END FLASHBACK**_

The memory made Nana's blood boil. She reached a clearing where a frozen pond was, framed by dead trees.

She and Lola used to take walks in the wood and sit here, talking for hours. Not anymore.

If Nana thought she would sit here alone, she was wrong.

"And what might a young lady such as you be doing in the cold dark woods?" a voice asked. Nana knew his voice.

She turned around to face him. His features fit exactly those of the one she hated.

**X.X.X**

**End of Chapter 2**

**Yes, I know. The ending was lame, and the chapter moved VERY slowly. Still, at least it's an update, right? Things'll start going faster after this. Hopefully.**

**PLEASE REVIEW! I'd appreciate if all my ghost readers would do it! **


	4. Thin Ice to Tread On

**So… Um… Yeah. Thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate them! I have really nothing else to add though.**

**K… so here we go!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own SSBM. It's not a tragedy. Trust me.**

**X.X.X**

It did fit Young Link's description, but there was something in his eyes that held a mature look. He was also much taller.

Of course.

It was Link. The older one. And he was standing right in front of her with an amused expression.

"I thought I heard somebody walking down here… but I didn't know it would have been you," Link explained.

_Great… more company. Just what I needed,_ she thought sarcastically, _and to make things better it's the older version of Young Link! My, my! What a surprise!_

When Nana didn't say anything, Link walked over to the frozen pond and sat down on the cold ground with his feet splayed in front of him and his hands stretched out way back to support his sitting. The upper half of his body twisted around and he motioned her to sit down by patting the spot next to him with one hand.

After warily searching his face for any sign of malice, she cautiously sat beside him, with her knees drawn up. Her butt turned instantly cold but she didn't mind. She and Popo were used to this back at Icicle Mountain.

"So… Anything troubling you?" Link asked, turning his face to look at her.

Nana didn't choose to return his gaze. Instead she gazed at the frozen pond. It wasn't strong enough to skate on…

"Nothing really…" Nana said, in a voice that deceived nobody.

Nana felt Link raise a skeptical eyebrow at her, but didn't bother to react to it.

"Seriously Nana… What's wrong?" Link asked.

"Nothing!" The young Ice Climber snarled, "Keep out of my business!"

She was satisfied when she didn't hear his voice.

For awhile, they just sat there. The silence wasn't exactly uncomfortable for Nana. It was just… silence.

It lasted for about fifteen minutes. Then—

"Want to know why I'm here?" Link asked quietly, looking at the scenery.

Nana found that she really didn't care but just to be polite she asked, "Why?"

"I'm afraid," Came his barely audible whisper. He sounded afraid, and sad as well, though Nana couldn't really be sure—reading emotions was Lola's thing.

"Of…?" Nana asked. Wasn't Link supposed to hold the Triforce of Courage? Or something like that along the lines… Nana wasn't really familiar to the story, but she knew Link was known for courage, Zelda for wisdom, and Ganondorf for power.

"Why don't you tell me?" Link asked.

"Uh… okay," said Nana. And she thought for awhile. Finally, "You've been arguing with Zelda, haven't you? Is that why you're here?"

Link smiled, "Partially. There's another reason though…"

"What?"

"I was thinking of proposing to her," Link mumbled.

Nana's expertise wasn't really on this type of stuff. But she couldn't see the problem in this situation. After all, everybody in the Smash Mansion knew about their relationship, "So? You like each other. Just say sorry, propose, and get it over with!"

Link sighed through his nostrils, "It's not as easy as you think it is, Nan," he said, referring to her nickname.

"Oh yeah?" she asked.

"Yeah. Zelda is of royal birth. And I… I'm just a stupid little peasant. We _aren't_ supposed to be mixed up. I'm just supposed to protect her. That's it. Her father would _never_ agree to our marriage. He'll want Zelda to get married to some other handsome prince. Like Marth," he added the last line and scowled darkly.

"But I thought Marth and Samus were engaged?" Nana said, frightful of the sudden bleakness.

"Yeah. They are. I was just giving an example," Link said quickly, "It's just not fair! I mean, just because I was born in the wrong class means that I can't get married to her?"

Nana really didn't understand these "classes". After all, she was brought up with her own, and another family, way up in the mountains. The only time she'd ever seen humans was when she had to buy things at the foot of the mountain, and when she watched them on television. She supposed that it had to do with politics. Her teacher tried to explain it, but Nana really never understood it. All she knew were that certain people couldn't interact with others for some reason. It all sounded unfair to Nana.

Nana was silent. She really didn't know what to say. She knew Zelda and Link loved each other, so she still couldn't see the problem. Except these 'classes'.

By now Link seemed to have snapped out of his mood. He turned his face to her again and asked, "So what's up with you?"

Nana considered the question for awhile. Out of all people, she half wanted to tell Link because he understood his younger self the most, and half didn't because Link might get uncomfortable with the subject. But then again, she could trust Link better than even Lola. There was just something about him that made him seem trustworthy and loyal.

"Young Link," she grunted.

"Ahh…" Link said delicately. The way he said it made it look like he knew she and Young Link were enemies. Then again, it wasn't actually a secret they hated each other.

"I accidentally threw a snowball at him, and it had hard ice in it. And I kind of… knocked him out…" she muttered guiltily.

Link winced at that. Getting hit by a ball of ice was not a laughing matter.

"But Ness _said_ he was okay…" Nana protested, as though Link was arguing with her, "And Lola was making such a big deal of it… and I didn't know what to do, so I came here!"

"Relax… It's not your fault. Not really anyway…" Link sighed tiredly, "Lola can act a bit overdramatic in situations like this."

"That's the biggest understatement I've heard all day," Nana snorted.

Link grinned, "Okay, so maybe she's _really_ overdramatic. Why don't you just apologize for what you did to Young Link. I mean, who knows? You might have found this wonderful relationship that you two never knew existed!"

Nana considered it for a moment before answering, "Nah."

Link laughed, "Okay, so maybe I went too far there. But at least apologize to him. Promise me, Nana."

"No way!" Nana exclaimed.

"C'mon! I don't want a war to wage at the mansion! I know that Young Link will never say sorry. But you have some dignity to say it! Puh-leaase?" he gave her a look that reminded Nana forcibly of Lola when she wanted Nana to do something.

As much as she didn't want to, Nana gave in, "Fine. You win."

"As soon as he's conscious?" Link asked.

"Do I have to?" Nana asked with a grimace.

Link laughed, "Yeah. Young Link isn't as bad as you think him to be. That's why he has friends and people who care about him. He's just… weird around you."

"Weirder than he already is?" Nana asked nastily before educing a long sigh, "Fine, I'll apologize to Young Link. If it's what you really want…"

"It would make me happy," Link gratefully said. Then he got up, brushing nonexistent particles off his tunic unnecessarily in the process, and looked down at Nana, "Now, let's go in before we get into a state of hypothermia! I really hate winter. I'm more of a spring summer person."

"I love winter! It's so cold and… nice…" Nana said. Winter was home to Nana. It was the only season she felt before she came to the Smash Mansion.

Link stuck his tongue out at her, though Nana didn't mind. But when their eyes met, she almost thought he was Young Link. In fact, every time that impish look came into Link's eyes, he suddenly looked seven years younger. The resemblance made Nana feel uneasy. For once, there was no hatred in his eyes. And the experience made Nana feel as though the world had turned upside down.

"Shall we go back?" Link asked.

"Sure…" Nana said after a moment. She looked at the frozen pond one last time. Maybe in a week or two, the ice would be thick enough to skate on…

She got up and followed Link out of the clearing. Every step made her stomach churn. That apology kept looming into her face. She hoped Young Link never woke up. Or something unavoidable happened that made her delay in apologizing to him.

The deep orange sky was fading into a royal purple color, and the sun had disappeared. There were no stars yet, but you could see the moon high up in the sky emitting a faint white glow looking fresh and regal. As they walked through the woods, the air got crisper, and colder although the air she inhaled brought forth a velvety sense to it. The dead trees looked more menacing as they waved their bare branches against the wind, like bony claws.

Finally they emerged out of the woods and before she knew it, they had arrived at the doors that led inside. Nana inwardly frowned. Why was it that when you want time to drag, it goes by fast and when you want time to go fast, it goes by slow?

Link led her to the infirmary, opened the door, and gently pushed her in, closing the door silently behind him.

While figuring out where Young Link was, she spotted Dr. Mario coming out of one of the rooms. He seemed startled at her appearance.

"Can you tell me where Young Link is?" Nana inquired politely.

"Huh?" The doctor said, "Young Link? Oh yes. He's resting right now; I don't think you can see him at the moment. I'm sorry," he stammered, "You will be able to see him later," and he ushered her outside.

Momentarily confused at what just happened Nana stood outside the infirmary for a minute. Whatever had just happened right now happened really fast. Finally, Nana decided to go look for Lola. She wanted to clarify things with Lola and since she had nothing else to do, she walked to their room which was on the third floor.

After getting to their room, she could not find Lola. She gave a cursory glance at her room and smiled warmly. Lola and she were so different. Nana's half was neat and tidy, and there were only a few accessories. Only a few were in pink color. Lola's was untidy, and everything except for a few articles of clothing and accessories was either a shade of pink or purple.

Nana silently shut the door behind her and slunk over to her bed. There was a laptop on it, quietly humming. The screen was slightly open and the gentle glow emitting from the screen invited Nana to open it. She stared at her desktop for a minute, wondering what she should do. Then, on sudden impulse, she logged onto her email and was surprised to find an e-mail from her mother. It had been a month since she'd talked to her mother and she had to admit that she was very worried. Eagerly, she clicked on the link that led to her mother's message and read:

_Dear Nana,_

_That last letter from you was enormous! I'm sorry I couldn't respond earlier. You see, there was an accident at Lola's house. Her mom and I were out shopping and thank goodness because when I went to her house, we were shocked to find it in ruins! We don't know what happened, but we're guessing that it was a raid of Topis and those nasty Polar Bears. So now, Mrs. Wasser is staying with me. I think she'll be staying permanently, because she has been feeling rather lonely living alone the whole time. She's not used to living alone you know. You know what happened… and Lola is now with you and Popo. I needed some company too, so I decided to let her stay with me. I really do feel for her._

_Anyway, I heard that holidays are coming up? I would love it if you and Popo could come over. Nana, I can't tell you in words how much I miss you and Popo. I am so proud of you, and I watch your matches from home every chance I get. I was so proud of Popo when he placed third in the tournament! And I see that you have definitely improved. When I heard that you two were separating as fighters, I was so happy! That's one more step to independence for my Nana and Popo! Oh God… Tears are coming out of my eyes now that I think of it. I think I should stop raving on about this._

_Please ask Popo to come over. Of course, Lola is invited. And so are your friends… what are their names? Ness and Young Link? Ah yes, they are invited. From what I've heard, that Young Link is quite a character! And Ness seems quite charming too, from what I heard in your last letter. It would make me happy if they were to come over. So please ask them for me._

_Hopefully, I'll see you soon. I have nothing else to add. Don't bother to reply back your response if you are going. Have fun at Smash!_

_With love like only I could,_

_Mom_

By the time Nana was done reading the letter her eyes were unusually moist.

_Mom…_ her right hand left the touch pad and the tips of her fingers grazed over the screen. All of a sudden, the bottled up homesickness inside her felt overwhelming. She quickly signed off her email, not even bothering to reply. And she closed the laptop feeling unusually lonely. She missed everything about her mother. Her warm, twinkling honey colored eyes, and short brown hair. She missed her cooking, which was the best cooking Nana had ever tasted. She missed all the talks she and her mother had and with a sudden jolt Nana realized that nobody could replace a person as important and compassionate as her mother. She wished she could hear her mother laughing, or even scolding her, even though her mother rarely scolded her.

Nana shook herself mentally; she was becoming too serious over this. She _would_ go visit her mother, whether Lola, Popo, Ness, or Young Link wanted to come or not.

After firmly making this decision, Nana slid off the bed, and closed the door behind her. She thought about looking for Young Link and so decided to see if she could see him now. It wasn't as though she was anxious to receive his forgiveness; she just didn't want Link to think of her as a promise-breaker.

Nana wandered around aimlessly through the halls. But everywhere she went she couldn't find Lola or Young Link. She _did_ meet Ness however on the second floor.

"Ness!" She called out to the boy who was preoccupied with his yo-yo. The yo-yo which was spinning smoothly in one place horizontally, suddenly tumbled to the floor and Ness looked up startled.

They were the only ones in the hallway.

"H-hey," he called back, suddenly looking flustered. He gestured at his yo-yo which was hanging loosely from its string.

"Heh… sorry about that…" Nana murmured. _Out of all stupid things I could've done in front of him… I had to be the cause of messing up a trick!_

"It's alright," Ness called back cheerfully. The flustered look in his face was gone, replaced by the friendly smile he always wore.

"I was wondering… I was looking for Young Link," she explained.

"Oh… I think he just got out of the hospital wing," Ness responded, "I don't know where he is though. Want me to help you search?" He asked.

"Yeah!" _Don't make it sound like you're desperate…_ Nana chided to herself before adding to Ness, "That is… if you aren't busy?"

"'Course not!" Ness replied. He bounded over to her, cheerfully, and they started walking together. At first it was a brisk walk, but then gradually it turned out to be a languid stroll.

"So… why are you looking for Young Link anyway? Another grudge you need to take out on him?" Ness asked with a grin.

"No!" Nana responded, "Actually, the opposite of that. I wanted to apologize to him," she said, not even bothering to meet his gaze.

She kept walking for about a second or two, before realizing Ness wasn't beside her. She turned around and saw him gazing at her in astonishment.

"What?" she grumbled. She had expected this from Lola, or even Popo, but certainly not Ness.

"It's just that… I mean… _wow_! I never thought… what made you want to apologize?" Ness asked in an awestruck voice. He cautiously approached her, like she was a new test subject.

"Link," she muttered.

Ness raised an eyebrow at that, "Link?"

"The older one," Nana verified, "I met him in the woods… and well… he made me promise."

"Ah… I see," Ness said wisely, though his expression was explicably confused. And though Nana saw this, she didn't want to elaborate on the subject. She didn't know why, but she felt as though Link wanted to keep their conversation a secret.

By now, they were nearing the Dining Hall, and that made Nana say aloud, "Ness, d'you know what time it is?"

"Yeah…" Ness said, "Time for you to get a watch!"

Nana groaned, "That is so old, Ness."

Ness chuckled and checked his watch, "Mm… Quarter past seven."

Nana eyeballed his watch, "You have a non-digital watch?! I didn't know anybody still wore those!"

"Not the world where I come from," Ness replied, "We still drive things called _cars_. And we also have things called _real trees_ and _animals_."

Nana frowned, "Really? You guys still have those—wait a minute! So does Nintendo City!"

Ness laughed at her, "Nana… Have you ever heard of a joke?"

Nana blushed scarlet. "Yeah…" she muttered, "I'm slow at these things alright?!"

"Alright… Just checking," Ness replied cheerfully.

They strode down to the Dining Hall and opened the doors to find the place occupied by a few people.

It was easy to spot Lola, Young Link, and Popo; they were sitting on a table right next to the door.

"There they are," Ness said unnecessarily.

"I have eyes," snapped Nana, who was still feeling stupid.

"_That's_ something new," Ness responded with a hint of gentle sarcasm.

Nana chose not to respond, but they strode over to their table and sat down. As soon as she sat down she noticed Lola stiffen.

"I think we have a murderer sitting with us," Young Link spat out nastily.

"She didn't murder anybody, Link," Popo calmly responded, before putting a particularly large piece of steak into his mouth.

"Alright, but it was _attempted_ murder," Young Link responded and he viciously stabbed at his own steak.

"It was an accident," Ness firmly said, while helping himself to some rice.

"So what are you doing here, Glace?" Young Link sneered, turning on her.

Nana, who had been chewing took extra time to swallow. She wasn't particularly keen anymore to apologize.

"Well…?" Young Link demanded, his blue eyes turning icy.

"Firstly, I came here to sit with my friends. It isn't a crime now, is it?" Nana asked expecting no response. "And secondly," she said, cutting off whatever he had to say, "I came here to… er… ah…"

She didn't want to say it. She really didn't want to.

"What?" Young Link rolled his eyes and sucked in his cheeks, "To stammer?"

"I—I well… I sort of came here to… you know… erm… I… came… to say… I came to um… I came here to apologize."

There was a clatter of a silver utensil from Popo and a hacking choke from Lola. Nana looked down.

"What?" Young Link asked.

"I came here to apologize," muttered an annoyed Nana.

Young Link just sat there dumbstruck. Lola was still hacking away. Popo was grinning proudly, as if Nana had just graduated from college.

"Oh… Well… I don't care. You didn't have to," Young Link muttered.

"Yeah, but I did," Nana said, and did a huffy breath, annoyed at what he was saying. So she had mustered up whatever dignity she had for this?

Young Link blinked at her through his blonde hair. He seemed to be wondering what to do. "Thanks for the courtesy," he replied at last.

Nana wasn't sure _what_ she should think. But at least he wasn't making fun of her. Maybe he _did_ have a good side to him like Link said.

Maybe…

Suddenly fond of everything in the room, Nana relaxed in her seat and chewed more slowly, listening to everybody speak.

"Yeah, holidays are in about two weeks. I think I might go over to Onett and visit Paula for a change…" Ness said, concentrating his psychic powers on his fork so that it was bending and unbending into odd shapes.

That's when Nana remembered the e-mail from her mom. "Oh… Well… actually I was hoping you would come over _my_ house. My mom just sent an e-mail saying that I could invite you all to come."

"Mom sent an _e-mail_?" Popo asked bewilderingly, "I didn't get an e-mail!"

"That's because you never reply back to her," Nana responded irritably.

"Oh yeah…" Popo muttered.

"Yeah! You guys have to come!" Lola squealed. She squirmed excitedly in her seat and continued, "We'll have a blast! C'mon Ness," she added in a whine, "Paula can wait! You'll never get to see Icicle Mountain like this!"

Hearing Lola's voice made Nana feel uneasy. _I don't want to break the bad news to her now, in front of all these people. Maybe it's better if I just wait… Maybe until we get back to our room I'll tell her_.

"Fine… I guess I'll come," Ness responded with a grin, "What about you, Link?" he asked Young Link.

"I don't know…" Young Link muttered, "I guess I haven't really thought about it."

"C'mon dude! You _have_ to come!" Popo urged the Hylian boy.

"Yeah, we'll have loads of fun! I promise!" Lola added in the same whiny voice she was using before.

Young Link suddenly gave a warm smile. "Alright," he said, "If it really makes you happy."

"Yay!" Lola squealed again. Nana stuffed her index fingers into her ears; it was all she could do to deafen the high-pitch of Lola's voice.

Young Link lowered his head and stared at his now empty plate. All that remained were the bones which he fiddled around with using his fork. There was a content silence around the table; a rare thing for young teenagers such as themselves.

As Young Link stared at his plate, he had no idea where he was going with this idea. Half of him really wasn't sure of doing it anymore. It was really nasty, and his conscience was bothering him to no extent.

_She deserves it…_ a particularly obnoxious voice said in his voice.

_Well… she _did_ apologize…_ a tiny wisp of a voice responded timidly. It was barely there.

_But still… she started it! And you've been enemies since you met her. Why are you feeling guilty all of a sudden? _The obnoxious voice snapped, stomping all over the tiny voice.

There was no reply from the other voice inside his head.

Young Link gave a long sigh. One side of his head had won. But there was still some doubt in his head. Why _was_ he feeling guilty all of a sudden?

"…More mature look on his face. He almost looked like the older Link for a minute," Ness observed. He was leaning over to his right and whispering to Nana.

"_Him?!_ Mature? Nah…" Nana replied in a dismissive tone. But she was lying when she said it; for a minute she could've sworn the person sitting two people down from her was Link.

But no sooner had the thought crossed her mind, Young Link's expression reverted back to its old self and Nana found herself wondering if she had imagined everything she had seen.

**X.X.X**

**End of Chapter 3. **

**So, there was a little insight on Young Link. A little foreshadowing hither thither. And other stuff, that I tried to include. Well… I think that's it!**

**Thanks you for the previous chapter reviews. They undoubtedly make my day.**

**Please review upon exiting!**


	5. The Color Pink

**The reason why the update was so quick was because I'm leaving to Chicago on November 15th for a class trip! And I'm going to be gone for a week, which means no typing gasp because I'm not allowed to take my beloved laptop due to the uptight security.**

**Disclaimer: The only thing I own that is related to SSBM, is Nintendo stuff, the disk, and the original SSB and Nintendo 64. Haha… isn't that funny? LAUGH!**

**Sooo… Anyway, chapter 4 starts… after the "X.X.X"**

**X.X.X**

Though it was a Sunday night, Nana still went to bed very late. She had just finished all her homework, and was now dragging her weary body up two flights of stairs. _I am never going to leave all of my homework to do on Sunday night…_ she thought wearily, though she was highly aware that she made this promise to herself every Sunday night after completing her homework.

The thought of her warm, comfortable, bed made Nana want to quicken her pace, but she was too tired to run, or even properly walk. She stumbled up the stairs and wearily searched for her room. Finally, upon reaching her room, she tried the door and found it was locked.

She searched her pockets and any other place on her that might've had her keys and mentally cursed; she must've left her key in her room. She banged her head repeatedly on the door, annoyed at herself. She was so annoyed at everything. And with Lola being a heavy sleeper, Nana prepared herself to kip outside the door.

"Nana?"

_Crap!_ Nana's head jolted away from the door as her bleary vision focused on the person who was coming to her. She made out a tall, well built person in his late teens with dirty blonde hair that grew around his face.

"Nana?" Captain Falcon questioned. The way he was staring at her, made Nana want to hide herself in embarrassment.

"Mmm?" she responded, not even bothering to open her mouth; she was afraid a stream of curses would flow out of her mouth.

"You know it's," he checked his watch, "12:23 A.M. It's way past lights out."

"Don't I know that?" Nana muttered to herself before saying aloud, "Yeah, so what about you? _You're _past curfew."

"Why… yes. I suppose I am," the F-Zero racer responded, chuckling slightly. He ran a hand through his head. His dirty blonde hair reverted back to its original position immediately after his hand left it. He sarcastically asked, "Aren't you the smart one?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nana asked wearily. Her body slumped against the door, desperately wanting to be on the other side, in her bed, with her eyes shut and the covers over her, with the lights out, in perfect silence. She was so tired, she wasn't following the conversation properly.

"It means, kiddo," he smartly retorted, "That today _I'm_ in charge to see everybody is in bed by 10:30 P.M. or so God help me, Master Hand _will_ eat you for breakfast."

Nana sighed irritably at his pitiable attempt to scare or humor her. She gestured tiredly at the door and offered, "I locked myself out."

"Nice try," he responded in that same maddeningly smart manner, "But one of the reasons why you have a roommate is for a predicament such as this."

Perhaps it was because Nana couldn't see where this conversation was going, or it was probably because she hated how Captain Falcon's face betrayed that he thought she was a dunderhead. Nana screamed in frustration, "Lola is a DEEP sleeper! SHE WON'T OPEN THE FREAKING DOOR!"

There was a silence. Then somebody yelled from one of the rooms tiredly, "Go to sleep!"

Captain Falcon hammered on her door himself. No response. He frowned at the door and murmured, "You're right. She _is_ a heavy sleeper. A _bit_ too sleepy…"

He fingered the doorknob questionably and then decided against it. He turned around and grinned at Nana, "Looks like somebody'll be sleeping in the guest room tonight."

Nana groaned; sleeping in the guest room was horrible. The place was unbearably frightening. The place had no furniture besides a hard chair, and a hard bed with a mattress that Bowser or DK couldn't even get comfortable on.

She gave a half wail, half moan that made Captain Falcon stage whisper, "Shut up!"

Nana stopped abruptly, though she wasn't very happy. She stared at her feet, wriggling her toes, and then looked at Captain Falcon who was still giving the door an uncertain look.

"What? Trying to hook up with the door?" muttered a moody Nana. She couldn't help it; she hated how Captain Falcon seemed amused by her plight.

"Nope," Captain Falcon replied in a chilling manner, "I'm trying to hook up with a brunette who is standing in this very same corridor as me." He grinned nastily at her. And though Nana knew he was kidding, she was still freaked out.

"Pedophile," she dared to say aloud so he could hear her.

But Captain Falcon was humming a tune that Nana could not recognize and strolling to the guest room, oblivious to what she had just said.

Nana followed grudgingly, forcing herself into a slight jog because her legs were too short for his long legs. She felt like collapsing right there, because of the effort it took to take one step.

As they walked to the guest room (which was oh so conveniently _far_ away from her room), Nana could not help thinking the tune he was humming was consuming her mind. It was certainly very catchy, and before she knew it, she had started humming it herself.

"Do my ears deceiveth me?" Captain Falcon raised an eyebrow at her, amused.

"It's a pretty catchy tune," Nana said defensively, "And deceiveth isn't even a word."

"I'm glad you like it," Captain Falcon said, pleased and ignoring her last statement completely.

"Why should you be glad?"

"I'll have you know that I started a band, and that's one of our songs! I'm the guitarist and the backup singer."

Nana stopped short; _a band?! Him? Is this a joke?_

"You're kidding… right?" Nana said with skepticism.

The hot-shot racer just ran both of his hands through his hair (Though he seemed to do that often, it did not change the position of his hair, and his bangs were still determinedly pressed to his forehead) and gave a heavy sigh like the world just ended, "Don't believe me?"

"Do I have a reason to?" Nana snorted.

"Ah… here we are!" Captain Falcon said, stopping short in front of a brass door that said in block white, painted letters 'GUEST ROOM'.

He fumbled into his navy blue bathrobe pocket for his master key and then unlocked the door. As soon as the faint _click!_ was heard, Nana turned around to Captain Falcon and raised an eyebrow.

"What? Scared?" he teased.

"You wish…" Nana muttered at the corner of her mouth. Tentatively, she walked in the room, not even bothering to flick on the light.

Captain Falcon sighed. Nana was acting very childish. But he could understand. After all, the reason why barely anybody visited Super Smash Brother's Mansion was because of the guest rooms. Captain Falcon flicked on the light himself. The room was ordinary, but it possessed no qualities that made Nana seem comfortable.

It was sparsely furnished, and the walls were painted a paper white color, which made the room look bigger and lonelier than it was normally intended. The ceiling was pretty high placed, and was also white. The bed was a pure white color, as was a hard chair and a bed side table. There was a door which led to a bathroom, and a small shower. Everything in the bathroom was white. Even the tube of toothpaste, the toothbrush and mirror frame. Nana felt as if she was violating a rule, stepping in the room with her dark blue jeans and bright red shirt.

She turned around to Captain Falcon who favored a sympathetic smile to her. Everybody in Smash Mansion dreaded sleeping here because there was no friendliness in this room. It was almost like…

_A mental hospital…_ Nana thought, as she surveyed the room with a doubtful look.

"Do I really have to sleep here?" she asked at last, turning to the older Smasher who was patiently waiting for her to get settled.

"Unless you want to sleep outside…" Captain Falcon trailed off.

Nana heaved a long sigh and for the first time, realized she would be spending a rather _fitful_ night here considering that she wasn't even dressed for the night, and how cold this room seemed.

"Goodnight?" Captain Falcon asked tentatively.

"I suppose so…" Nana said uncertainly. But there was no answer. Captain Falcon had already left, shutting the door noiselessly.

Nana stared at the room for a moment and then shut off the lights. Darkness suddenly flooded the room and Nana found herself dragging herself to the bed.

But even as her head hit the pillow, she found that she couldn't go to sleep. Her eyes begged to close, but they stayed wide open. Her ears were alert, listening to imaginary and not so imaginary sounds. She thought she heard shuffling feet outside the room and could have sworn that empty branches of a nearby tree were scraping against the outside of the wall. She heard a faint whistle of the wind, and something was going _patter patter_ on the roof.

It was quite awhile before Nana was finally able to fall into a troubled sleep.

_Nana turned around and shouted, "Let's go!"_

_The world was white, with gently falling snow. A boy and a girl stood in front of a house. Both held the same features, yet they were not quite twins. The girl had coal black eyes. The boy's eyes, although shaped the same way as the girl next to him had quiet dark green eyes and unruly light brown hair. The boy with the green eyes smiled lopsidedly at Nana and the girl was checking to see if her boot laces were properly tied._

_Nana laughed joyfully, and then turned around to get a shock. She was facing two brilliant, blue eyes._

_Instinctively, Nana knew he wasn't part of the scene. The eyes were… demanding. It was as if their curiosity needed to be quenched at any cost._

_But there was something that made Nana even more startled._

_He wasn't supposed to be there._

An icy sensation seep she was curled up into a tight, warm ball under the sheets.

_Ugh… Where am I…?_ She thought, sitting up, and drawing her knees up to her chin. Although the sunlight lit the room, it did little to warm it up. For a moment Nana wondered where she was, before realizing that she was in the guest room. She closed her eyes. Her eyelids seemed to creak anciently as she closed them. It hadn't been a good night for her. She willingly would have dropped back to bed. But instead she leapt off the bed, feeling her bare feet hit the cold, tile floor. She walked to the bathroom, and brushed her teeth, washed her face, and combed her hair until it looked tame enough.

Then she dashed down the hallway bumping into DK ("What the blazes?") and Captain Falcon ("I'm still in charge this week, Glace. If you bump into me again, you'll be shelling peas for tonight.").

When she arrived at the breakfast hall, she barely acknowledged the surroundings, and shot over to Lola who seemed pretty weary, considering she went to bed early.

She muttered a quick hello, and sat down, right on….

_BRTTTTTTTTT!!_

"What the…?" Nana exclaimed, looking at the Whoopee Cushion. But that wasn't the worst of it. She turned to her seat, and saw a Rube Goldberg taking place right in front of her. It whirred and clicked. Things dropped. A tiny line of dominoes knocked a spoon down, which shot up. Nana looked up in time to see this neon pink goop of porridge falling from a bucket.

_**SPLAT!!**_

Everybody stared at what now appeared to be a monster of a thick, pinkish glue monster. It moved slightly, staring at its hands wonderingly.

Lola looked away, embarrassed.

Nana wiped away some of the goop away from her eyes. She saw Young Link stalking up to her, chest puffed up proudly. She was confused. What had happened?

He stopped short right in front of her, and then emitted a loud shriek of uncontrollable laughter that soon triggered everybody else to laugh.

The coldness Nana had felt from the shock of the liquid suddenly became warm. She couldn't tell whether it was from embarrassment or anger.

"Good one, huh?" Young Link smirked.

"What do you mean?" Nana asked, confusedly.

"What do you mean?" mimicked the Hylian in a baby voice. He took a napkin from the table and wiped Nana's face. To a person that didn't know Nana's and Young Link's relationship, it looked like an act of kindness. But everybody present in the room knew it was an act of further angering Nana. His wiping only smeared everything more, and made Nana want to break something. Then he leaned closer to her, so they were face to face, and said in a low, dangerous voice, "Do you honestly think that just because you asked for forgiveness means that everything will be happy ever after? You and I, we were _meant_ to hate each other. Besides, what I just did to you now, Nan, was repayment for you hurting me. Don't act innocent, telling me that it was an accident." He gave a chuckle, and Nana felt his breath on her face. She held her breath and forced herself not to look away, "because I _know_ it wasn't. You can't fool me."

Nana was seething with anger. She took her gluey hands and pushed him away from her roughly. He stumbled a bit before regaining himself, "Get _off_ me, you jerk. I try acting mature to you for once. I thought you actually _weren't_ a monster. But if you want to play dirty. Fine. Just don't think I'll be taking your _crap_." Nana said slowly, as though she was spitting out each word to him.

Awkward pause. Then Falco ended it by yelling, "Cat fight!"

Everybody suddenly realized that they had scheduled business, and started eating again.

Lola asked tentatively, "Are… are you okay?"

Nana hated it when people asked her that. Did she _look_ okay? She was shuddering with barely suppressed rage. "Yeah," she spat sarcastically, "Perfectly fine."

She threw down her fork and knife on the table, and got up. Flecks of goop splattered everywhere. Lola flinched, and gave her a timid look. Nana felt guilt creeping up at her for shouting at Lola, but dashed away, upstairs. She was already late as it was, but she didn't care. She most certainly didn't want to arrive in school like this. So after a quick shower Nana once again, rushed out.

By the time she was down, she was already 15 minutes late. And her normal brown hair had an unusual pink tinge to it. But Nana didn't care. She ran down the hallway, her hair still tousled and water dripping down her back, creating an uncomfortable wet feeling of fabric sticking to her skin.

Nana knew she had missed the bus, so she had to run. Today she had to present a Roman god that she researched for Latin Class. And unluckily, Latin class was first period. _Curses… Out of all days, it had to be today? Why couldn't Young Link choose another day to prank me? _But Nana knew why. Young Link was in half her classes which included Latin.

By the time Nana reached her class, she was about thirty minutes late. She was out of breath, her clothes were sweaty and wet, tousled, wet hair, and sweat pouring down her neck.

"Glace? You are…" Ms. Sceone checked the clock briefly before continuing dryly, "Thirty-two minutes late, and look like you've been dragged out of the trash. Care to explain?"

Nana winced. She knew that Ms. Sceone would never believe her. So she stayed silent, looking back at Ms. Sceone with burning cheeks as she heard titters coming from the class. She couldn't discern anybody's laughter except for one. It was mocking her. _Young Link…_ she seethed, clenching her fists. "I'm sorry Magistra Sceone," Nana said as respectfully as she could. Everybody in Latin 1 was required to call Ms. Sceone as Magistra Sceone simply because 'Magistra' meant 'Mistress' in Latin.

"You should be," Ms. Sceone hissed coldly. She paused for a moment and then her strict expression suddenly changed to a honeyed expression, "Take a seat sweetie."

And _that_ was why nobody really liked Ms. Sceone. She only had two moods; cold, angry, sarcastic, and sweet.

"Now, as you've had a week to research on your given gods and goddesses, it's time to present them. Let's see…" Her eyes roamed around the room. They settled on Lola.

"Wasser, you can do the honors of going first. Please be a darling and step up to present to your class," Ms. Sceone simpered.

"Um… Okay," an alarmed Lola said. She rummaged through her skimpy backpack for awhile. Then rescued several very rumpled papers. She straightened them as best as she could in five seconds. She smiled brightly at Ms. Sceone who stiffly returned it.

"In the future, _please_ take care of your essay in a more… careful fashion," Ms. Sceone said in a slightly disgusted manner, though her honeyed smile still stayed frozen on her face.

"Yes, Magistra," said Lola in a way that suggested she really didn't care.

Lola marched up to the front of the class, "I was assigned to the goddess of Venus. In Greek terms her name is Aphrodite. She is the goddess of love and beauty…"

As everybody plowed through their presentations, Nana's mind was elsewhere. She still hadn't forgotten about Young Link. The same anger she'd felt that morning had returned and now she imagined Young Link dying many slow, painful deaths. She had to get revenge. But how?

By the time the period was over, Nana still hadn't figured out how to get back at Young Link and it was annoying her to no end. Young Link was good at pranking people, but Nana really didn't.

"We will continue our presentations tomorrow. We still have Gaiden, Glace, Glace, Evans, and Psioki. What are your gods?

"Diana," Nana sighed.

"Mars," Young Link responded.

"Apollo," Popo monotonously said.

"Pluto," Kayla Evans muttered.

"Minerva," Ness said.

"Alright then. I don't want to see your faces," the teacher snarled as a signal of them of all packing.

They rushed to pack their belongings and as they walked out the door Ms. Sceone called out in that annoying honeyed voice, "And have a wonderful day!"

"How come you were so late?" Kayla asked right as they turned away from the hallway.

"Oh I had an _accident_," Nana said out loud making sure Young Link heard her.

"Your hair looks positively divine," Young Link said in a falsely sweet voice, as he rushed to her and tugged on one of her still damp locks.

"Get off me!" Nana snarled and roughly pushed him away.

"Hey! You look different!" Kayla exclaimed, "I think there's something wrong with your hair,"

"You've got keen eyes," Nana said through gritted teeth. She wanted to hurt him really bad, but two pairs of arms grabbed her and she tried pushing away from Popo's and Lola's grasp. _Just one well-placed kick_.

"Don't worry, Nan," Young Link said with a lazy grin on his face as he watched her fight to free herself from Popo's and Lola's grasp, "Though I liked your new hair, your normal hair that looks like something died on it will return after two more washes."

"Yeah," Nana panted, "Before it returns, you are _so_ going to get it."

"I can't wait," Young Link said sarcastically.

"Guys…" Kayla said nervously, "We're going to be late if we don't hurry."

"I hate you," Nana spat with venom as she jerked herself away from Lola and Popo and packed her belongings.

"Tell me something I don't know," Young Link said, before turning away and heading for American History.

**X.X.X**

"God, he's so ANNOYING!" Nana snarled into her lunch.

"Nana… It's not polite to wipe your mouth with the back of your hand," Lola said in disgust as she watched Nana do exactly what she advised against.

"I don't see what's so annoying about him," Paula said calmly, her blue eyes stealing a glance at the young Hylian that just choked in laughter at something. After a second or two, she quickly said, "Never mind. I can see what's annoying about him."

"Puh-lease! Okay, so he's a little immature, but he's not that bad and I live with him!" Lola defended.

"Lola, if Link treated you like he treated me now, then you would've been worse off than me," Nana said, glowering.

Lola's cold, "I'm not as disagreeable as you are, Nana," was drowned out by Kayla who asked, "Whose coming to the ball?"

"I am," said the girl sitting opposite of Nana.

"Kumatora?" Paula asked surprised.

"Yah," Kumatora responded running a hand through her short pink hair.

"I thought you weren't into that type of stuff?" Nana asked, her eyebrows raised. She was disappointed by Kumatora's behavior. Nana had always thought Princess Kumatora's behavior not unlike her own. After all, Kumatora was tomboyish. More so than Nana if that were possible.

"Yeah, but that was before I heard Ribbon and Adeleine were going. And um… Well… Lucas asked me," Kumatora finished awkwardly.

"Lucas asked you out? Awww! That's so cute! I can't believe he'd ask you out. I mean… he's a pretty shy boy, isn't he? I can't believe you said yes!" Lola squealed in her gossip-like manner.

"_I_ didn't say yes!" Kumatora protested, "Duster said yes for me!"

"Kuma, as long as you like him, there's no need to protest," Paula said gently before adding, "I didn't expect Adeleine to be going either."

"Yeah. I know, but a lot of people you wouldn't expect to, are going. Anyway, I heard this ball is going to be the best because…" Kumatora stopped abruptly as though she wasn't supposed to say anymore.

"What? What's going on at the ball?" Nana asked eagerly.

"I can't say it…" Kumatora said.

"C'mon! We won't tell anybody!" Lola said, as she leaned in to hear the very juicy secret.

"Somehow that sounds weird coming from you…" Nana muttered to Lola who shot her a silencing look.

"Well…" Kumatora hesitated once more before blurting, "I heard that Super Smash Brothers is going to be recruiting more characters! And nobody knows who they are except Master Hand and Crazy Hand. _Even the characters themselves don't know who they are!_ And I heard that Master Hand is going to be presenting them at…"

"…The ball?" Paula finished excitedly.

"Exactly," Kumatora said, with flushed cheeks.

"Whoa… That's scary. I mean…" Kayla stared at Paula and Kumatora, "It could be one of us and we wouldn't know!"

"I don't think you'd be chosen Kay. I mean… No offense, but you've got no powers. You're just a regular person with no fighting powers. I think Paula has the best chance of coming in out of you three. No offense Kumatora, but you're… hm… you're not very recent. Paula is the more recent. _And_ she's got powers. Like Ness," Lola said.

"Well… just because Kumatora isn't recent doesn't mean she won't get picked. I mean, look at me and Popo. Look at Mr. Game & Watch, Ness, Dr. Mario. They aren't very recent. And Kayla can get in as well. Lola… you weren't in any games. You were just a very good friend. That's how you got in," Nana said.

Lola flushed darkly. Nana didn't like her expression, and wished she hadn't said anything. But it was too late to repair the damage, because Lola said in a strangely calm voice, "Are you saying I've got no talent Nana? Are you saying I got into the Super Smash Brothers because I'm well connected?"

_Yes…_ was the honest answer to the last question. But Nana decided to avoid the last question and said, "You do have talent! I never said you didn't! I just… I mean… I just meant that you weren't in mine and Popo's game. You weren't in any game, and you got in. This means Kayla still has a chance."

Lola didn't answer. She looked totally confused, angry and hurt. But apart from Nana, nobody really noticed Lola's expression.

_It's the truth. She can't hide from it. She wasn't anything special. _I_ was her ticket to fame. She should've thanked me a long time ago for that, and she still acts as though she's much better than I am. I'm not saying that I think she's using me. She's my best friend… It's just that… she's been pushy ever since she first tasted being a celebrity. And she's acting as if it was because of her that she got accepted when it was really because of me and Popo. Sometimes I wonder if the reason why she really came here was on purpose. I wonder if it wasn't an accident._ Nana mentally slapped herself. _That_ was going too far. Lola wasn't _that_ cruel. She would never do that.

Nana switched her thoughts away from Lola and subconsciously, her eyes slipped to Young Link's table. He was pretty popular among boys… and girls. A lot of girls said he was cute. Nana had even caught Kayla and Ribbon discussing him in the bathroom. They were talking about some cheerleader girl had gotten rejected by him. Young Link really wasn't into girls. He was still in his immature girls-have-cooties stage. What _wouldn't_ Nana give to hurt his precious ego…

As Nana threw away her empty juice box and headed for fourth period which was Earth Science, a plan unfolded in her head. Vague at first, it suddenly became wonderfully lucid by the time Nana reached the mansion.

**X.X.X**

_Young Link will get his payment. Tomorrow…_ And so warped up and thrilled with the brilliancy and simplicity of it that Nana completely forgot about Lola. She forgot about a certain e-mail from her mother that contained a request to tell Lola about an accident.

And when Nana realized that she still had to tell Lola about her wrecked house, a pang of guilt tore through her stomach, wrenching through like barbed wire.

_Tomorrow… I'll tell her._ Nana thought guiltily as she watched Lola skating with Ness and Young Link from her bedroom window. She didn't feel like breaking her happiness by watching Lola's face crumple into misery at the news. She didn't feel like telling Lola. Not after what had happened at lunch.

Nana turned away from her window and stared at the clock. 7:30 P.M. She needed sleep if she wanted to execute tomorrow's plan. She would have to wake up early for it.

If she didn't want it to fail.

**X.X.X**

**END OF CHAPTER 4**

**Yeah… okay… Long-ish chapter. Sorry, I couldn't update this earlier. I was in Chicago for a class trip for four days. And then during Thanksgiving's Holiday I spent time with my cousins, and I couldn't really start and finish the chapter there. So here I am! I hope this satisfies some stuff.**

**Thanks for all the reviews. I enjoyed reading them!**

…**I sound like an over enthusiastic teacher. I should shut up.**

**Oh yeah… Kumatora, in case if you didn't know, is a princess who has PSI powers. I've heard she's quite a tomboy. She's from a NES game called _Mother 3_. I've never played it before. Lucas and Duster are also from there.**

**Ribbon and Adeleine are from a Kirby game called _Crystal Shards 64_. Ribbon is a pink haired fairy, and Adeleine is a magical painter who looks like a boy with black hair. Sort of.**

**As for Kayla, she's just somebody I made up.**


	6. Bittersweet Revenge

**Yes, I know I took an extremely LONG break. Ugh… Actually, this chapter was the hardest for me to write so far, because I was so unprepared.**

**To tell you the truth, whatever you see in this chapter, is the first thing that popped into my head. I lost the summary to this chapter, so I'm going to have to improvise, the prank for this one, since I can't really remember it.**

**Actually, to tell you the truth, during my Winter Break, I went to this place where absolutely no technology existed. Basically, I spent my time there praying, sleeping, and talking with a couple friends who'd also come along. When I came back, I already skipped 3 days of school, and I still haven't caught up with all the work yet. My week days are really busy, and all of a sudden, my weekends are full of partying. So I can never find the time to write. **

**Thanks for the reviews, guys. This story wouldn't really exist without you, this laptop, and my knowledge of how to use it.**

**Disclaimer: Crystalicios does not, and cannot ever own Nintendo and whatever it owns. She also does not own anything from Playstation, Xbox, other video game consoles or any other video game for that matter.**

**X.X.X**

Geometry could be such a pain at times. Especially Proofing. How exactly Proofing would help Nana in her life, she would never know.

_Triangle ABC is congruent to triangle DEF. What reason supports that? Theorem 14?_

Nana bit her lip and frowned. She _loathed_ geometry. Algebra had been a breeze for her, which was why she had been put into Advance Geometry. But so far, she hated it. She had run up the path of Algebra without a sweat. But even walking up the path of Geometry was taxing, and Nana dreaded this period. Besides Nana, Ness and Jeff, the rest of the class was full of people who

She glanced over at Ness who was scribbling down the answer for number 13 with ease. Of course Ness would know the answer. He was in the same class as Nana, but unlike her, was there because he was smart at both Geometry and Algebra.

"Need help?" he asked, noticing her irritated look at his pencil which was moving quickly.

"No," she said hastily, "I'm doing fine."

Ness gave her a skeptical look, then scooted over her side of the couch and looked over at her untouched Proof Chart.

"You've been staring at the same spot for a quarter of an hour. I would think that you'd be having some trouble," Ness said.

Nana hated how stupid she felt in his presence and it really didn't help that Ness was the smartest person out of her friends. She searched for something to respond to.

"How would you know? You've been working this whole time," she asked.

"I was watching you from time to time," he responded honestly, and rather boldly.

_Watching me? What's that supposed to mean? _Nana fought to hide the blush that spider webbed over her cheeks. She hesitated. "Watching me?" she repeated, but the way she said it made it seem even more awkward than intended,"Why would you do something like that?"

Now it was Ness's turn to hesitate. But it was only for a fraction of a second before, "It's hard not to notice you weren't doing anything. You kept crossing and uncrossing your legs, and sighing like it was the end of the world."

Nana hadn't really noticed herself moving or making any noise for that matter. This piece of information made her feel very self-conscious. Still, she asked, "Did that disturb you? It didn't seem like it."

"No, it didn't. I just wanted to see if you needed any help, is all," Ness responded in a neutral voice.

"I'm fine, I could ask Lola. I don't want to trouble you," Nana said, her head swimming with the attention she was getting from him. She was aware that they both were alone, talking in the Study Room for Juniors (Ages 16 and older got their own Study Room for Seniors). And she was also aware of the fact that his face was only a foot apart from hers. This was pretty rare.

"Lola takes Algebra, like Popo and Young Link," Ness reminded her.

"Oh. Right."

"Let me help you," Ness kindly said, and took the pencil from her. He leaned across her body to the notebook that was balanced on the armrest.

"Triangle ABC is congruent to Triangle DEF?" Ness muttered, more to himself than Nana.

He frowned, studying it for awhile, while Nana held her breath, acknowledging the fact that both of them were positioned at an awkward angle.

"Done," announced Ness proudly, and Nana saw that he'd finished the whole Proof Chart with his untidy scrawl.

"You solved the problem for me," Nana pointed out in a strained voice. She was still holding her breath, "That's not exactly helping."

Ness looked up at her from his bent position, noticed her burning cheeks, and straightened himself so that he was sitting in an upright position as he was before. "Temptation," he smirked.

"What?" this was totally unexpected from him. Ness really didn't seem like the type to suddenly spring _this_ out on her.

"Temptation made me solve the problem," Ness clarified, and Nana snapped back to her senses.

"Oh," Nana replied. To hide the stupidity she felt at the moment, she cuttingly remarked, "That truly makes you a nerd."

Ness's smirk vanished, and Nana wondered if she'd put a toe out of line. But before she could apologize he replied with a knowing look, "I'm doing it again, aren't I?"

"Doing _what_?" Nana asked, echoing her thoughts.

"Making you feel incredibly stupid," Ness replied with that same knowing look that annoyed Nana. But this time, it was accompanied by a knowing smirk that reminded Nana forcibly of Lola.

Nana opened her mouth to protest but Ness interrupted her with, "You always look flustered every time I do that, and then you insult me."

_Actually, I think I always look flustered around you, regardless of whatever you're doing._

But Nana didn't voice that thought aloud. Instead she replied with annoyance lacing her voice, "Would you like some sort of reward for figuring that out?"

Raised eyebrows. Clearly, that wasn't the reaction Ness had been looking for. But then his face straightened back to its normal composure, grinned and said in sarcastic voice, "I think you read my mind."

"No. That's what _you_ do," replied Nana, returning to her Geometry work, so she could hide the grin that was starting to spread. Luckily that was the only Proof she'd had to do.

"May I join?" asked a familiar voice.

Nana and Ness looked up at Popo who had a couple textbooks and notebooks in his arms, standing in the doorway.

"Sure, why not?" Ness responded cheerfully.

Nana could not meet the same enthusiasm. The precious moment that Ness and her had shared alone, was over.

"Geometry crew? That's all I get for help?" Popo asked in mock disgust, "Where's Young Link and Lola? My Algebra buddies?"

"Lola's in her room. Talking to that new kid, on her cell phone. I forgot his name…" Nana trailed off, trying to remember.

"Oh yeah, him! I forgot his name though. Isn't he in your Geometry class?" Popo asked interestedly.

"Yeah, he seems nice enough…" Nana said, though she really wasn't as interested in this conversation.

"I wonder how Lola knows him… He's a little too old for her, don't you think?"

"Huh? I don't think Lola wants to hook up with him. Besides, he's only a grade higher than us," Nana said, scribbling down what X equaled to on question 14.

"He seems the type Lola would be interested in," Popo pressed Nana, who was too busy to realize he was curious.

"Yeah, he's a girl-magnet, but if they went out, they wouldn't last a day. I can just tell," Nana said absentmindedly, punching in some digits on her calculator.

"I think somebody is jealous," Ness said lightly, his eyes full of mischief. His eyes switched from Nana's face to Popo's to see his reaction.

"_You_ like him?" demanded Popo, clearly taking Ness's word. His eyes hardened in disbelief.

"No! Ness is being stupid!" Nana defiantly answered.

"My sister _likes_ a girl-magnet _9th_ grader?" growled Popo, as if he'd never heard what Nana said.

Ness watched them both, with a smirk, clearly enjoying their little fight.

"So what if I did?" Nana tried a different tack, "What's it to you?"

"It's _everything_ to me! Jeez, Mom told me to take care of you while we were here," Popo glowered, "And going after a girl-magnet highschooler is asking for trouble!"

"Funny," Nana said in a quiet but angry voice, "Because Mommy told me to take care of you!"

"Yeah, well you seem to be forgetting that _I_ am older than you!"

"Yeah, by about 2 minutes," pointed out Nana scornfully, "That really puts you in authority."

"Yeah! It does!" Popo jutted out his chin, so he looked a little older than her. He _was_ taller than her, but it didn't hide the fact that he looked about as mature as her.

Nana rolled her eyes at him, "I don't see what this whole fuss is about. I don't even _like_ this guy. I don't even know his name, and you're already becoming a pathetic excuse of an older brother."

She stretched and yawned, trying to look nonchalant, "Well, I'm going. See you, Ness," she said, careful to omit Popo's name and ignore his expression that was looking decidedly murderous.

"Yeah," Ness said back quietly, no longer amused. Instead, he seemed thoughtful, processing what he'd just seen between them.

**X.X.X**

"So are you?"

A forced laugh. "I'm not interested."

Nana released a sigh.

Lola smirked.

"What?" demanded Nana.

"Better take him before somebody else does," she said with the same smirk.

"Lola!" Nana whacked her friend on the head with the battered fashion magazine she'd given up trying to read. It had belonged to Lola, who never threw away a subscription of any of her magazines. Unluckily for Nana, they were all of gossip and beauty. Not a single contained a tip of how to beat Inferno in Soul Calibur, or how exactly King Boo could win MVP in Mario Baseball.

"What?" squawked the other girl Ice Climber in protest. She whipped her arms up over her head gracefully, and the magazine came in contact with her flawless arms.

"I don't even know his name… Why does everybody think I like h—STOP LAUGHING!" Nana said angrily.

Lola whipped herself away from Nana just in time. When she determined that she was safe from Nana's magazine-weapon, she mischievously winked and declared, "I'll tell you his name. His name is P—"

_Knock._ **_Knockitty. _**Knock.

It was a strange knock. Curious even. To Nana.

"Who is it?" she called out.

No answer.

"Maybe he's shy," whispered Lola, all trace of laughter gone. She stared at the door, like Nana.

Nana was the first to move, she uncrossed her leg and slid from the bed and tentatively walked to the door.

"Don't!" Lola cried in a strained voice, and then added in a lower whisper, "Maybe he'll go away."

Nana rolled her eyes and ignored her. She slowly turned the doorknob, and punched it foreword, fast as lighting.

Nobody.

Nana's head flipped both ways down the hallway. There was not a soul in sight.

_It was probably a prank. _Nana decided, _one of the boys. Young Link…_ she scowled at the name. He was the biggest candidate out of Popo and Ness. _Then again…_ Nana mused moodily _…It could be Roy, Bowser, Pikachu, Kirby…_ she went through each of the Smasher's names wondering which could be the likely culprit.

She turned around to face Lola, whose face was white with fright, "D-did you get him?" she stammered.

"No. Whoever he or she is… got away," Nana said reluctantly.

Lola breathed a sigh of relief.

Nana's eyes swiveled to the digital clock that sat atop Lola's nightstand. "Holy crow! 9:30!"

Lola raised an eyebrow. "You usually sleep around 10:30-ish."

_Oh yeah… Lola doesn't know… Should I tell? I should. She's my best friend, and she'd get mad if I didn't tell her something that involved revenge…_

"Yeah, but I have this thing I need to do tomorrow…" Nana quickly babbled.

"What thing?" Lola asked, riffling through the battered magazine that Nana had thrown aside.

"Oh erm… This thing. I promised Ribbon that I'd help her with her Earth Studies project," she added, trying to make the whole thing convincing, "They're studying Egypt."

"Oh, she's done with Japan already?" Lola frowned absentmindedly, staring at a picture of a glamorous model who had three broken engagements and was announcing her fourth.

_Oh crap! I forgot they were still studying Japan…_

"Did I say Egypt?" Nana swallowed, trying to look casual, "I meant, Japan. They're studying um… The states."

"Prefectures," corrected Lola, "Japan has prefectures, not states."

"Whatever," snapped Nana, the color coming back to her face. _Curse Lola taking Earth Studies and actually paying attention to it for once…_

Nana gave a yawn, mildly surprised that it was genuine, and realized how sleepy she had been; after all her day had been filled with surprises. Sleeping in the guest room with no proper sleep and on top of that, _Young Link_ had been so kind to do her a favor and make her hair pink.

Nana flopped down on her bed and, amid Lola's squealy protests, shut the lights off. She was much too used to Lola's voice to care, and so the voice quickly became a background sound, very much like the quiet hum of the heater that was on.

Finally Lola's voice ceased, and Nana, an eager, yet tired Nana drifted off to a dreamless slumber.

**X.X.X**

"Nana!" the exclaim was of a pleasant surprise.

Nana groaned. She still wasn't awake yet, yet she turned around to Ribbon who was hovering gently off the floor by a few inches.

The main hallway in school was completely deserted, except for the two young girls.

"Hey Ribbon," she called out in a weak voice.

"I'm surprised to see you this early," Ribbon commented. It was more of an inquiry than a comment.

"Yeah, er… I had some stuff I needed to take care of," Nana explained shiftily. Out of all people who she had to meet in the hallway, it was Ribbon? Ribbon the empathetic little fairy, who, if Nana told her what exactly she was doing, would shame her out of doing it? Ribbon was too naïve, and innocent to understand revenge.

"Oh? I can help you then!" bubbled Ribbon.

"No!" shouted Nana, who then cleared her throat. "No," she repeated in a normal voice, "It's no problem. I can handle it, by myself. Erm… you can work on your Earth Studies project."

"I don't _have_ an Earth Studies project," Ribbon said in a voice that suggested she was confused at Nana's odd behavior.

"Then why are you here so early?" Nana asked. She never knew the life of somebody who came to school early, so she was a bit curious.

Ribbon stared at Nana for a long time with her liquid black eyes. Black eyes were not uncommon in Nintendo City, but the look that she gave Nana was.

"I work here," she finally said in a quiet tone.

"You _work_ here? But why?" Nana asked, forgetting to be polite and not pry into other people's affairs. She wondered why she never knew that Ribbon worked here when the 7th grader fairy always sat with them at lunch talking about nonsensical things.

"To help pay my expenses," she answered quite honestly, "I'm not as rich as you."

The tone that Ribbon said it had no trace of venom or ill-will in it. It was simply a comment.

There was an uncomfortable silence. To Nana anyway. Ribbon seemed unperturbed by it, though her eyes seemed curious as to what Nana would say.

And indeed, Nana didn't know what to say. Should she be polite and say, 'I'm so sorry' the way most people did without any feeling? Or change the topic abruptly to steer clear away from the situation?

She settled for, "I didn't know."

It was because it was the most honest answer she could think of.

"Well, now you do," Ribbon replied pleasantly, as if they were discussing the weather.

"Do you want any help with your services?" she asked quite suddenly, the words tumbling out of her mouth before she could think over them.

"No thank you," Ribbon replied, though she seemed subtly surprised by the question, "I think I can do it."

With that Ribbon floated away, and Nana had a horrible sinking feeling in her stomach, the kind you get when you realize it's too late to change a decision that is so very wrong.

Nana wandered over to the kitchen, sneaking in through the door which the Lunch Ladies worked.

The kitchen was full of strange smells, some pleasant and others not so. Fumes clouded Nana's sight, making it hard for her to see. Things whistled, spoons clattered, knives chopped, and liquids bubbled. It was busy, and things constantly gave it noise. It certainly wasn't the kind of kitchen Nana had back home.

"What you doin' in heah?"

Nana jumped. _Caught, by the worst of them…_ she winced inwardly, as she slowly turned around to face Jordan O'Dell.

"Hello Ms. O'Dell," Nana squeaked peaking up at the obese woman, whose apron cinched tightly around her shapeless waist.

The woman towered over Nana at least three feet higher than her, hands on hips (if you could call them hips) glowering at her with beady black eyes.

"What you doin' in heah?" the woman repeated, her eyes narrowing on the little intruder that invaded her precious kitchen.

"Er… Ah… Funny story actually," Nana stammered. What exactly _was_ she going to say? To spike a certain Kokiri's dessert? That wouldn't do.

Jordan narrowed her eyes, squinting at Nana and suddenly the Ice Climber wondered if Jordan was corrupt enough…

"…Good fo' nothin' kids who thinks dey's good 'nuff jus' 'cos dey's famous! Well I says dey's gots it all in deys head! I tell yeh! I's got half a mind to get you thrown outta heah, I do!"

Nana took a deep breath. This was the first bribery she'd ever done, but it was her only chance.

"What if I offered you, this?" she asked, in what she'd hoped was a secretive, enticing manner. She slipped her hand into her pocket, hoping to fish out some money. She pulled out some Fiis, the new Nintendo currency, and showed it to Jordan, "I could use the help."

Jordan stared at Nana for one long moment. Nana thought she was done for. She squeezed her eyes shut, and as her hands turned cold, she waited for the denial.

"What you think I is? Some kinda dope-jam? Is an insult to me, li'l gal, if I mus' say so meself," she said, pointing one large dark-skinned finger to indicate herself, "Mebe I need some mo' persuasion, li'l missy."

Nana gave Jordan's sneaky smirk an unbelieving look. A rush of blood warmed fingers, giving them life and solace. Her shaking fingers groped for an extra bill and pressed it into the woman's hand.

"Now what you want, ma'am?" Jordan asked with a refined voice, to which Nana was definitely not pleased with. But she wasn't in the mood to argue.

"I need you to add this," Nana took out a tiny bottle from her backpack, "to today's dessert and give it to somebody in particular. No, it won't kill the person," Nana added, noting Jordan's scandalized look, "though I wish it would," she muttered to herself.

"Who do I need to give it to, missus?" Jordan asked, still in the refined voice.

"Young Link. He's in 8th grade, Hylian, blue eyes, blonde hair, stupid elfish cap, complete with matching tunic and brown boots."

"Ahh…" Jordan stroked her chin wisely and gave Nana a motherly look, "You be breakin' up with him fo' some nasty trouble?"

It was hard for Nana not to gag in revulsion at such an idea as this, but she nodded understandingly and whispered to her in an angry sad voice, "I saw him with another girl, last Sunday. Kissing. Holding hands."

"Ahh… dem boys can be so ha'sh on de woman's life. I remember when I was a young-un like you is righ' now… I remember a boy named Taylor. Lord, was he de fines' boy you eva' saw!"

"Erm… That's great Ms. O'Dell, but I have some other business to attend to," Nana said, not wishing to be stuck with Ms. O'Dell and her bipolar tempers.

"Awright honey, I's see that you is a very busy gal, seein' as how you have so many admirers! Off you go den!" Ms. O'Dell said, giving a rumbling laugh.

Nana turned to go, feeling grateful that she'd gotten out of the kitchen, unscathed, and hurried out.

**X.X.X**

Lunchtime was always a chaotic place of flinging bits of food, gossip, laughter, make out sessions and… depression for those people who simply didn't have anybody to talk to. Sometimes it was a time to rush through you homework that you were too lazy to start, or had no chance to start it at all.

Lunch was a place to do anything you wanted.

"Pea soup _again_," Kumatora announced despairingly as she stared at the metal canister in front of her in annoyance.

"What about you Nana?" Ribbon asked, giving no indication that she remembered their conversation in the morning, though Nana knew better.

"Same as usual. Peanut butter and jelly with grapes and a bottle of water," Nana said carelessly. Her mind and heart was waiting for somebody to scream.

"Pretty healthy lunch," commented Adeleine dryly, looking at her own which consisted mostly of candy.

Kayla disbelievingly stared at Adeleine's pile of sugar-high food, "You can eat all that and _not_ get sick?"

"That's the beauty of having messed up DNA and being magical, honey," smirked Adeleine as she opened a box of _Nerds_ and dumped it into her mouth in one go.

Kayla's nose scrunched and she turned away; her expression sour.

Everybody on the table knew why; Kayla was the only one at their table who wasn't mutated, magical, or had any type of fame, or unique ability. She was one of the few people who had confusedly ended up in Game World without any real reason.

There weren't many people like Kayla that existed in Game World, which was what actually _made_ her unique. But Kayla failed to realize what was so special about her. She came from Earth, and wasn't even especially interested in Nintendo, Playstation, Xbox or any type of Game that existed. Upon arriving at Nintendo High School, many people were curious and Kayla, though she wasn't especially interesting, was popular. Many people wanted to know what Earth was like. Kayla suddenly became an expert at Earth Studies, a subject _all_ students were required to take at least one year of.

There was a horrible gagging noise nearby; every head on Nana's table shot up, looking to see who it was, though Nana herself knew already.

Young Link's face was turning colors fast. A shade of embarrassing red, then a delicate shade of green, and finally a sickish gray.

"Wa-er!" he gasped in between gags, "Dying!"

Nana grinned bitterly, shoved her chair back, and stalked to his table, the bottle of water in her hand. This was the moment she'd been waiting for. To rub it in even more.

"Why hello Link, I didn't expect to see you!" she said in mock surprise, "My, your face is _really_ turning weird colors! Is your tummy upset?"

She cracked open the water bottle seal and opened the cap, taking a long swig of the clear liquid inside.

"Wa'er!" he choked, hopelessly swiping at the bottle, which Nana held out of reach.

"Mate, do you need help?" Popo asked anxiously (And rather stupidly in Nana's opinion), but Nana silenced him with a look. This was her revenge, and nobody was going to interfere with it.

Practically the whole of Middle School was surrounding his table, watching what was going on in mild interest.

"Sorry, can't hear what you're trying to say," Nana said in a high voice, so that everybody could hear what she was saying.

Young Link's face was turning blotchily red. Boils sprouted out from his face, and suddenly he let off a high-pitched scream that resembled a tea kettle. He tried to cover his face up, because many people were laughing.

The boils reached their peak and suddenly burst, making odd noises per boil. Some sounded like they were farting, others like popping bubble wrap, and still others giggling.

Uproarious laughter was heard throughout the Middle Schoolers.

When all the weird noises had died down (the last boil erupting to a passionate sigh) and the Middle School students had stopped laughing, Nana smirked.

"I suppose from now on, you'll need your food tasted," she said, feeling wonderfully powerful that for once, she was looking down at him with a feeling of satisfaction.

"Nana, _you_ did this?" Young Link asked in disbelief.

"You asked for it," she snapped, and her smirk vanished, replaced by narrowing eyes and a firm, straight line for a mouth.

"What do you mean, _I_ asked for it?" Young Link's disbelief and shock changed to anger.

"I wonder…" Nana pulled on a mock puzzled look, "I simply had to return the favor. You gave me the _best_ hair job ever, so I had to repay the favor and give you a nice face job. And while I was at it, why not throw in a little show, to boost your reputation?"

Young Link's eyes narrowed at her as he coldly retorted, "Think you're so smart, don't you?"

Nana was too intoxicated with her success to read his tone and eyes, "Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. Oh yes, by the way," she reached out, and poked a popped boil on his cheek, to which he recoiled at her touch, "This only lasts you a day. Sorry, I couldn't find a permanent one, but when I find one, I'll let you know."

She gave him one last bitter, hard smile, turned her heel on him and left.

"Nana!" The shout came from the hallway that Nana was in the middle of.

Nana turned around to face Popo, Ness, and Lola who were waiting outside for her, their expressions unreadable.

She grinned at them, and strode over, "Hey!"

"Nana, that was really mean!" Lola squealed, "I mean, how could you?"

"How could I?" Nana snarled, her grin evaporating instantly. She couldn't believe Lola could still side with Young Link. Lola had deflated the happy balloon that was swelling inside Nana's stomach. She couldn't believe how unfair this was. All Lola did when Nana's hair turned pink was sympathize with her for about two minutes, and not say a word to Young Link. "Lola, he messed up my hair! What would _you_ do if he did that to you?"

"Well, firstly Nana, I wouldn't have ticked him off the way you did," Lola said, avoiding the question entirely.

Nana gave her one long look of annoyance. Her satisfaction at seeing Young Link's horrified face was replaced by Lola. She couldn't believe her friend would side with Young Link. _I am her best friend! We grew up together, and yet after meeting Young Link for not even a full year, she decides to side with him. He's not even as close to her as _I_ am!_

"Nana?" Ness asked tentatively, while Popo looked down quietly, unsure of what to do.

Nana's gaze flickered over to Ness's for only a brief second. His warm black eyes, normally clear with understanding, now held timidity, and in that moment Nana detested the sight of him too. He simply couldn't understand the feeling Nana was experiencing right now.

Her eyes switched back on Lola's whose eyes showed defiance, and—was Nana mistaken?—Guilt?

But in the end, Nana stared her down. But when Lola opened her mouth to apologize Nana regarded her coldly and chillingly spoke, "I have things that need to be done."

She ominously turned on her heel, and stalked away from her friends.

Revenge wasn't as sweet as she'd fancied.

**X.X.X**

**End of chapter 5!**

**Oh yeah. I think I failed to mention that Nana and Popo are twins. It was more convenient for me. I know most of you probably refer to Popo as the older one, but I see both their levels of maturity the same, so they're nearly the same age.**

**As for Kayla, yes she is one of the few unique individuals from Earth that randomly get transported to Earth. **

**Also, just to tell you, I decided to call the World they're living in Game World, because I _might_ be including background characters from Playstation, and Xbox as well. It's a bit sketchy, but basically, there are three main schools; Nintendo School (Elementary, Middle, and High) Playstation (Elementary, Middle, High) and Xbox (Elementary, Middle and High). Basically all of them are major rivals. So I might refer that to my story.**

**Well… a bit dramatic, if I do say so myself. Well, what else is there to say? I'm sorry for the lack of updates. SORRY! 9th grade is way too much for me to handle at the moment.**

**Please review upon exiting and have a good morning, evening, or afternoon! Constructive Criticism is always appreciated.**


	7. Flowers that Can't Heal

**I think I pretty much talked myself out on at the last chapter. I have nothing to say here.**

**Disclaimer: Crystalicios, being of sound mind and body, does not own Nintendo, Playstation, Atari, Xbox, Dreamcast, all that shizz. W00t.**

**X.X.X**

Her mood was a raging inferno, even after school. She stayed mad for the whole day at Lola. She couldn't believe her. Weren't they best friends? It just didn't make any sense as to why Lola would be like this. What kind of justice did Lola believe in?

The sound of ringing bells announced the end of the day. Nana wasn't paying attention, and only when Popo came by her desk, did she snap out of her wondering stupor.

"3:30 Nan. It's time to leave," he said quietly. He could sense her anger, hurt, and bewilderment but he didn't say anything. That was how they communicated; through unspoken feelings.

Popo waited by Nana's desk, as she packed her items into her backpack. She zipped it up, slung the black straps over her shoulders and followed Popo out.

There was snow outside everywhere, but even that did not put out the boiling pit of lava that raged inside Nana. She felt the _crunch!_ of the snow underneath her boots which reminded their strong stick of friendship, that was close to snapping in half.

"Aren't you going to take off your coat?" she heard Popo ask, very faintly, and she was suddenly aware that they were in the Mansion and it was considerably warmer here.

Wordlessly she took it off, carelessly dumping it onto the coat rack that stood by the door.

She strode upstairs, past Young Link (who for some reason, looked unbearably happy), Captain Falcon (Whistling merrily, and exclaiming, "Hey!" when Nana almost bumped into him). Her hand hovered over her doorknob, wondering if she should go in or not. If Lola was there, she definitely didn't want to be there. But her bedroom seemed to be her best bet for a place to turn over what was going on at the moment.

She decided to go in. She pushed open the door, and found Lola—clearing out Nana's underwear drawer.

For some reason, Nana became even more enraged at the scene. "Throwing me out already?" she coldly asked, it being more of a statement than a question as she surveyed the mess on the floor.

Lola flinched, her face turning whiter than paste. Her eyes darted from Nana's drawer to Nana.

"I… I didn't mean…" She blubbered.

"What exactly didn't you mean?" Nana asked, annoyed at this little scene. She was _so_ sick and tired of Lola's little antics. She was sick of always being the one to look for Lola, who could never be found. She was sick of always being the one to try and reconcile. It was like she was Lola's mother rather than a friend And despite all that, Lola still didn't have time to thank her for all that, much less try taking her side instead of Young Link's!

"I didn't… mean any harm," Lola pleaded. She stared at the mess, Nana's underwear strewn around, "I wanted to… er… Nana… I felt really bad at yelling at you today," she said quickly, guilt thrown all over her face.

Nana rolled her eyes, her arms folded across her chest, "Yeah so?" she asked. So what if Lola felt bad? She was the one who caused that bad feeling. Nana glared at Lola, waiting for her to say something else.

"Well… I realized… Well… I realized that I always got the better stuff. And I well… I decided to… you know… I decided to exchange my wardrobe for yours, so you could have the better one," she cleared her throat, "As a way of saying sorry."

Nana's furious mind screeched to a halt. Her eyes searched Lola's guilt-ridden ones. She searched for a trick, but the only thing she could see was guilt, and blankness. A strange combination, but Nana wondered… Did Lola really mean it?

Lola held Nana's gaze, never daring to let it wander. Finally, Nana let out a sigh, and closed her eyes, deflating. Maybe she was overreacting to everything. Maybe she had woken up at the wrong side of the bed. Maybe Lola just wanted peace. Maybe…

"It's alright. I couldn't really stay mad at you for long," Nana finally said, trying to let her anger out. But it wasn't working.

Lola squealed, "Nana! I knew you were the nicest person I ever met!" she rushed over to Nana, nearly squeezing all the air out of her.

But Nana felt stiffness within her. She couldn't really say why, but the more Lola became happy, the more annoyed Nana felt at her. The last thing she wanted was Lola squeezing her insides out. She allowed Lola to hug her, but she didn't hug back. She kept her distance.

"Let's do something," Lola suggested brightly. She took Nana's arm (Nana felt a flash of annoyance at this) and led her out.

"Er… I was going to do something else actually…" Nana mumbled. She really didn't want to hang out with Lola. She hated herself for forgiving Lola so easily. She hated that sense of weakening within herself, and giving in to Lola's silly little antics.

Lola studied her for a minute, then let go of her arm, "Well…" she slowly said, "If you want to."

"Yeah… I'm just going to go out, for awhile," Nana said, a little more normal now. She was a little relieved Lola seemed to understand her request, at being alone. Lola never seemed to understand that, and Nana was a little grateful that she'd grasped the concept quickly.

"Alright then, see ya!" Lola called cheerfully, shutting the door on her. Her tone did not match her eyes.

Nana stared at the door for a minute. She had never realized fully how different she and Lola were; yet they seemed to understand each other with perfect clarity. She turned around, and proceeded to walk down the hallway, her mind a whirlwind of thoughts.

She really hadn't been expecting this sort of feeling to settle within her. She'd expected the sweet feeling of success, her need for justice satisfied. Instead she found herself feeling overwhelmed and an endless hollow pit within her at the same time. It sounded silly, she knew, but she felt as if she'd filled her stomach with water, yet at the same time she was still thirsty.

Nana stopped in front of a window in the corridor she was walking on and looked out onto the mansion's vast lawn, now covered with a fresh coat of snow, and the frozen lake that stood just beyond it. The scene of dead trees calmed her down. Winter, Nana always had felt, understood her. Growing up in a place where three fourths of the seasons was winter and one fourth spring, made Nana feel more at home every time this season came to pass here.

"Nana!" somebody called.

Nana shut her eyes, irritably. Then she opened them. Maybe if she ignored them, they would go away, Nana thought, as she stared at the white, blank landscape below her. The whiteness of the sky and snow reflected in her dark eyes, making them shine oddly.

"Nana!" the person bellowed. There were footsteps hurrying toward her now.

_I tried…_ Nana mentally sighed to herself, as she wearily and reluctantly turned away from the window to the person who was running to her.

"You've got mail," Samus said in an eerie robotic voice that suspiciously sounded like Nana's e-mail system.

"Mail?" repeated Nana blankly.

"Yes, _mail_. And it's with a package too…" Samus said, holding out a box that was roughly the size of Nana's Game Cube with air holes in it, "Lucky you still get mail," Samus said, while Nana suspiciously looked over it.

"I usually get e-mail. This is the first time I've ever gotten mail," Nana admitted, still looking at the package, wondering if it was a trick.

"I've never received a written letter before," Samus said, "But then I came here!"

Nana's gaze shifted up to Samus's face, "What does that have to do with anything?" she asked.

"I got my first love letter," Samus said a pink tinge of reminiscence appearing on her cheeks, "And then there was loads of fan mail. Most of it is e-mail though. I like them better handwritten though. It makes me feel as if I know the person better by their handwriting."

Samus leaned over Nana looking out the window, "Wow… That snow stuff looks really pure out there. Makes me want to jump in and destroy all that smoothness," she threw a devilish grin at the top of Nana's bent head.

"Samus!" called out another voice.

Samus jerked and snapped, "What?"

Nana also was startled. She flinched and turned to look at Zelda who had an urgent look on her face, "Samus…" she panted. She seemed worried and out of breath.

"What?" Samus asked more gently, noting the panicked look that traced Zelda's normally serene blue eyes. When Zelda was panicked, everybody had a soft spot for her.

"I can't seem to find Peach anywhere!" Zelda cried out.

Samus, whose whole body had tensed for the bad news, slumped. She stared at Zelda with a look of annoyance, "And um… that's why you called me? Listen Zel, Peach is probably doing things she should be doing, like doing her shopping or getting a—a… what are they called? Manicures? Yeah. She's probably getting a manicure."

"Yes, but today it's her turn for making dinner, and she's not back yet," Zelda cried, wringing her hands, looking as though she was ready to hyperventilate.

"That's her problem, not mine," Samus dryly replied.

"But… But…"

"Listen Zel, if you're really that concerned order something from a restaurant," Samus impatiently ordered. But Zelda threw her a pleading look, and tugged on her arm urgently. She threw one last look out the window, muttered a quick, "Seeya Nan," and disappeared with Zelda.

Nana stared after them for awhile. Then her mind returned onto the package. Nana sighed, staring at her package warily. She couldn't trust it. What if it was a trick, a joke, or trap? Her suspicions heightened. What if it was from Young Link and contained a Stink Bomb or something else as a form of revenge? After all… when she'd bumped into him, he seemed a tad bit happier than he should've been.

She decided to open the note first. There were only a few words on it, but by reading them, a smile stretched Nana's face:

_An early Christmas present, just in case you can't make it._

It wasn't signed, but Nana knew who it was from. _I will make _it, she thought to herself as she curiously unwrapped the brown string and packaging, unfolding the brown butcher paper. There was a box, with air holes there as well. She grasped the lid, and pried it off gently.

Inside were two types of flowers. They looked ordinary to the eye, but Nana was an expert at plants. Her mother being an Herbalist, she knew what they all represented.

Honeysuckle. St. John's Wort. Apparently, both flowers aided in relieving stress. _What perfect timing…_ Nana thought, fingering the tiny petals. She could use it. She lifted the flowers to her nose taking a delicate sniff, smelling the unique flavor each had.

She closed her eyes, but the effect the flowers had on her was very faint. She could not feel the normal calming effects that they usually had on her when she was upset or agitated. Maybe it was because the flowers were dried, or maybe it was because she should have brewed them into tea.

Nana opened her eyes, and glanced out the window once more. The sun was peeking out of the clouds, and a patch of sunlight hit a dead tree. It was odd sight.

Tomorrow was a Friday for Nana, and then Saturday was the day she'd finally get to go home; something she hadn't done all year. A feeling of elation swelled inside her chest, when she realized it wasn't that far off. She couldn't wait to see her home, her mother, her other room…

She was so happy, she didn't even care that Young Link would be there. _After all,_ Nana thought as she ambled down the carpeted corridor aimlessly, _I don't think he'd mess with me again._ This thought was accompanied with a feeling of increasing smugness. She had shown him! She'd shown him what she was made of! And if Lola hadn't interfered, the whole day would have been perfect.

_Lola…_ Uh oh. She'd forgotten. After all what had happened, there was still one nagging thought. She'd forgotten to tell Lola about the accident. About her house. If she didn't tell Lola soon…

"Nan!"

The thought broke off, as Nana turned around to face Popo who was standing about ten feet away from her.

"What?" she grunted unhappily, making it loud and clear that she didn't approve of him intruding her little moment of solitude. She hid the flowers and packaging material behind her back. She wasn't in the mood to share what she'd been given, even to Popo, who had every right to see it.

"I was just—I mean… Are you alright?" He asked.

It was a stupid question. Popo already knew Nana very well. He could tell what she was thinking just by blinking her eyes, or if her nose twitched. He knew her inside out, and so Nana knew that Popo was either distracting her, or was going to talk to her about something else, but decided against it at the last minute.

"Fabulous," Nana sarcastically said. She traced an imaginary pattern on the red carpet with her big toe.

"Are you?" he asked more gently, noting the slightly dark circles under her eyes, and the harassed posture she held herself.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Nana asked. She was thinking of Lola. Perhaps she should tell her now, before her mind slipped off…

"Well… I mean… Given to what happened… I mean. If it was _me_…" Popo blubbered, looking astonished at her indifference.

"See… But I'm not you," Nana coldly said, irritated by his stammering, "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to find Lola," she said, in a more normal voice.

She walked past him.

"Nan… Don't be too hard on them!" Popo called out.

Nana was puzzled by his remark, but was not in the mood to ask what he meant.

"I won't."

She searched throughout the mansion for Lola. Downstairs, the basement, the attic. Nana could not find her anywhere. She double-checked her room. She swallowed a slight feeling of curiosity mixed with worry. She wasn't sure where Lola was, and she was beginning to feel worried. What if Nana's expression had affected Lola and now she was doing something incredibly dangerous and risky?

_Calm down…_ she willed herself. She was probably overreacting, though she was certain something bad was going to happen. She couldn't explain it, but a slow, strange feeling of shock and dread (the kind you get when you realize you haven't studied for a test that's this morning, but worse) was settling into her heart. She sniffed the flowers again, but once more, they did not calm her down.

She leaned against a wall. _Come to think of it… Lola's been missing for this past week… And I've only just realized it._ It was true. The times Nana really didn't need Lola, she couldn't find her. But then, Nana had shrugged it off. Lola needed her own space, and Nana understood. But now, this was getting ridiculous. Lola was up to something. Something that didn't include Nana. Something private. Something secret.

When Nana realized this, a slight feeling of hurt was added to her feelings. She was aware Lola and her were growing up, and needed their own space, but it still hurt her that Lola wouldn't tell _this_ to her. They'd told, done and shared everything together since before they could walk and talk, despite their differences. Whatever Lola was doing now, it seemed important enough to share with Nana. Whatever it was.

She wandered down the Juniors rooms with the same depressing feelings.

And then she heard it.

That distinct high-pitched giggle.

She knew that voice!

A little excited, and a little scared at the same time, Nana tentatively listened. But the giggling stopped, and Nana was sure it was coming from one of these rooms on this corridor. She started with her room first, double-checking it. Then she slowly ambled down, checking doors. Some of them were locked, but Nana knew the bobby-pin trick. After living with Popo, and being somewhat of a tomboy, Nana knew this trick.

"'Ey! Can't you see the door was locked!?" Kirby yelled, when Nana peered through one of the rooms. Half of himself was wrapped in a fluffy pink towel, though Nana thought it wasn't necessary. What _did_ Kirby have to hide anyway?

Most of the rooms were empty. Others had inhabitants that were sleepy or very grouchy when Nana tried their door. They shouted and yelled at her, but her confidence did not deter. The second to last door Nana put her ear against it and got a shock.

"Anything for you!" the person said in the same high-pitched giggle Nana had heard.

Gently, she tried the knob. She didn't want to announce her arrival, or else Lola might hide what she was doing. But she found the door unlocked anyway.

She opened the door, praying she wouldn't get noticed. Her pulse quickened when the door was opened, and her excitement and dread increased. Finally, she would get to the bottom of this.

It was a boy's room. A wall prevented Nana from seeing Lola and whoever she was talking to, so she had to edge carefully along the wall. She made no noise in her movement, and was careful not to.

Finally she slowly turned her head, and realized everything in one big shock. Why Lola never told _this_ secret. She knew Nana wouldn't approve.

All thought on telling her best friend about her house vanished, wiped clean from her memory. She watched the scene, numbness washing over her, dulling the emotional pain that would come later.

_Maybe this is just some twisted, sick dream…_

But Nana never believed the lie she tried telling herself. She watched Lola for several more seconds, and turned away.

She shut the door as quietly as she could. She slumped against it, not knowing what to do. She couldn't believe her. She couldn't believe that… Lola wouldn't do it.

_Yes she would,_ a nasty voice said, which Nana appropriately titled Hard Truth.

"Shut up!" Nana breathed which was a futile attempt to drown out 'Hard Truth'. But saying it aloud meant nothing. Whispered truths that Nana tried to convince were lies, filled her head, "Just shut up…" Nana moaned, knowing she sounded crazy, telling her head to shut up. But everything was happening so fast. Shock, hurt, anger, disbelief… it was all coming onto like an overwhelming wave Nana knew she couldn't ride out.

And in a sick, twisted way Lola _would_ do it. And then again, she wouldn't. Who and what exactly possessed Lola to do this?

The pain was washing over Nana slowly now, torturing her. Her legs and hands were shaking and before she collapsed she stumbled over to her room, throwing the door open and collapsing on the bed.

She didn't know whether to rage or cry. She didn't know whether she was feeling sad, feeling anger, or feeling confusion. Maybe she was feeling all three.

It wasn't until a couple minutes later; Nana felt the tears drop down. The first one that hit the pillow sunk its bitterness and pain, deep into the softness and cloth of the pillow. Then the next one followed closely, and soon after that. Eventually, it looked like it was raining. But rain was the last thing Nana felt in her chest. She felt a great wave of fury, inside, boiling beyond the temperature of Hell. She closed her eyes and the memory flashed in her face.

_Lips interlocked, hands tightly around each other's waist. The boy was kissing her hard on her mouth and though there was a lot of space on the bed, the girl was sitting on the boy's lap. The girl's cheeks were flushed, and it looked like she was pleased with the closeness and attention and heat that emanated from both of their bodies. They both were too entangled in each other to notice Nana._

_Panting, they broke apart, smiling at each other like they'd accomplished something great. They gazed at each other. One was of lust. The other was unfamiliar to Nana, but it certainly wasn't the same as the girl's. His eyes were lucid, unlike the girl's who was blinded by what was going on._

_The girl ran her hands through the boy's silky blonde hair, and gazed at his eyes. They were the color of the ocean. Then their lips crashed together again, as if they'd never break apart._

Nana opened her eyes, and the memory vanished, but her feelings did not.

A chant repeated over and over in her head, like an angry buzz, _Traitor… Traitor… Traitor!_

**X.X.X**

**End of chapter 6.**

**I hope I don't have to spell out who the boy and girl was. I think it's pretty explanatory.**

**For this chapter, I'll have to thank this one band called Ladytron, and their song called "Playgirl" and "Destroy Everything You Touch". **

**And well, you guys must be pretty pissed at me for this turning out like that. **

**This chapter is actually a little shorter compared to my usual. But a lot happened. The next chapter will probably be a little longer than this.**

**Comments? Please leave a review for that!**


	8. Who Won This One?

**Chapter 7**

**Blehh… My birthday was today, and what can I say? I have three very expensive items I really want for my birthday. The Wii and Twilight Princess being two of them. Hopeless wishing, but hey? Maybe for my sweet sixteen that'll happen?**

**Disclaimer: Don't own naught of SSBM or Nintendo**

**X.X.X**

Because of Nana's newest discovery, she was scared of what might happen the next time she met Lola. She didn't want to tell Lola of her discovery. Lola's… _blasphemy_.

But was it really betrayal? Surely Nana had no right to control who Lola was dating, or where she put her mouth for that matter. Was all of Nana's hate and hurt coming from _just_ Lola failing to tell Nana what she was doing? Somehow, Nana didn't think so.

"Nana?" Nana heard Lola inquire softly. She also heard their door shut silently behind them.

Nana closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep.

Lola didn't say anything more.

**X.X.X**

Bright sunlight did not greet Nana's eyes this morning. When she awakened, it was first light, which meant it was probably around 5:00 A.M.

After the first two failed attempts of trying to get back to sleep, Nana decided to get up, though she really had no heart to conquer the day. Her body and soul felt like dead weights, and she felt that she didn't really have the strength to drag them

Sighing, she looked at herself in the mirror, staring back at her oddly bright eyes that still seemed dead. Tracing the dark circles under her eyes in wonder, she wondered when they first started appearing. She tried smiling at her reflection, but stretching the corners of her mouth upward felt like cracking glass.

She gave up completely, and decided to busy herself by brushing her teeth and washing her face. The fresh, bitter smell of paste entered her nostrils, and cold water came in contact with her skin. She gasped inwardly at the sudden shock and her drooping eyes suddenly opened normally. Cold water was the trick to being fully awake.

She got dressed, and went downstairs, to find that breakfast wasn't ready. Obviously. Cold cereal would have to suffice, though Nana was looking forward to something hot. But the only thing Nana was capable of using the stove for was to make tea. Her mother, the world's greatest cook by Nana's standards, had only managed to teach her to boil herbs and tea. Anything else she tried burned, and caused the fire alarm to ring unnecessarily.

By the time she was done downing the remaining milk from her Wheaties, Yoshi, Marth, and Pichu had all walked in. Pichu and Marth sat down beside her, while Yoshi headed straight for the kitchen.

Marth stretched his legs under the table and let loose a yawn, "Ungh… I'm _never_ going to sign up for Watch Duty in the morning. Ever."

He scratched at his blue hair which was unusually uncombed in its straight bangs (right now, it looked as unkempt as Bowser's mane), and stared at Nana with tired, dead eyes. "What are you up for this early?" he grouched.

"Just felt like it," Nana replied. Her voice sounded depressed, and Pichu apparently noticed it, because she shifted over to Nana's lap and sent an electric jolt to her arms. Nana jumped, but the jolt didn't improve her mood. Nor did it worsen it.

Marth didn't notice anything though, he was half asleep.

Yoshi banged the doors open, carrying an armful of food, causing Marth to jerk awake. Pichu squeaked indignantly, when Yoshi dropped it all on the food on the table, sat down and began chewing slowly, considerately on a piece of beef jerky.

"How long was this in the pantry?" he asked, still chewing thoughtfully.

Marth stared at him with sunken eyes, "I expect a year ago it was bought," he replied hollowly. His eyelids were drooping again. The normal Nana would have wished she'd brought a camera so she could blackmail Marth with pictures of him now. This Nana didn't care.

"Really?" Yoshi asked in mild curiosity. He swallowed it thoughtfully, shoveling another bit into his mouth. Lola took dainty bites, as Nana remembered. Young Link ate almost as bad as Yoshi did. What an odd pair…

Marth stared at the dark, quiet room with half-lidded eyes, looking dead as ever.

"What time is it?" Yoshi asked, his cheeks bulging now with God knows what.

Marth's eyes drooped to his watch and said, "6:45," before his hand supporting his head, slipped, and his chin hit the table with a loud, dull _thud!_

"Pi!" Pichu squeaked suddenly. Her eyes warily searched the dark room before she released an electric jolt, which electrocuted a person that seemed to be as tall as Nana.

"Ow! Dude, you have to be so hostile?!" yelped an all too familiar voice.

Nana groaned softly, inwardly. Young Link. She didn't want to listen to his drivel, much less see his face again. She felt a sick, swooping sensation of anger when she saw heard his voice. More than anything, she wanted to stomp up to his face, and slap him with all the energy she had inside her, possibly leaving a mark.

"What are you guys doing up so early, anyway?" he asked. He didn't recognize Nana's silhouette, and she was grateful for that. She sunk lower into her seat, hoping he wouldn't notice her.

"Morning Watch," grunted Marth, who was currently massaging his chin.

"Early morning snack," Yoshi swallowed, reaching for a carton of strawberries.

"What happened to the traditional midnight snack?" Young Link asked skeptically.

"That too. But it's morning now," Yoshi replied, slurping the extra juice the strawberry contained noisily, "Late night, midnight, early morning."

"Pi! Pichu! Chu!" Pichu squeaked. Nana felt the Pokemon's warm body quiver as she made noise.

"English, please," Young Link chuckled, looking amused at Pichu's squeaks. Nana's anger upped a notch. How could he be laughing, when he'd turned Nana's life upside down?

"Pichu had a nightmare," Marth said in sleepy tones, "So I had to calm him down. Then we saw Yoshi, and since I'm supposed to be supervising…" he trailed off, giving way to a huge yawn.

Link suddenly noticed Nana, but mistook her for somebody else. "And Lola! You wake up this early? You should've told me—"

"I'm not Lola," Nana said in the most civil tone she could muster, which was proving difficult, "I'm Nana."

Young Link stopped. Even through the gloom of the early winter morning, Nana could see his cheeks flush. _Of course, if I hadn't stopped him from saying anything else, he probably would've given their whole secret away to the person they're trying to keep it from!_ She thought, recalling what she saw yesterday. Another stab of hot anger penetrated her chest, leaving as quickly as it came.

"Well, why are you up so early then?" he asked. His tone was no longer friendly. It contained hostility, mockery, and an edge of fright.

"I had a nightmare too," Nana said, using every ounce of self-restraint she had, to not use the precious mallet that she always carried by her side on him, "I saw your face, and woke up screaming."

"Just shows how much of a wuss you are," Young Link replied maliciously, undeterred by her insult.

Before Nana could find an answer to what he said Young Link grabbed an apple from Yoshi's horde of food much to the dinosaur's dislike, and said airily, "Well… I'm off to school. Seeya later, guys!" With that, the Kokiri boy rushed outside.

"He's a pretty early bird," Peach commented, entering the dining room from the kitchen. She sat down beside Marth, passing him a cup of coffee.

"Thanks," he grunted, taking a sip and yelping out because it scalded his tongue, "Come to think of it… Link usually has to drag him awake," He frowned scratching his chin thoughtfully, "This is pretty unusual…"

Nana remembered too. It _was_ a bit peculiar that he would be going to school early. Young Link never was tardy to school, but he always arrived at class out of breath, right when the bell rang. The most he'd ever been early was five minutes before class started. It bothered her a little, and something resembling an alarm clock was going off in her head.

"What time is it?" she asked, watching Mr. Game & Watch, Captain Falcon and Mario enter the dining hall. Captain Falcon was whistling a catchy tune as usual looking as if he'd had the best sleep on Nintendo, while Mr. Game & Watch and Mario were arguing about a public bathroom that had recently flooded.

"Quarter past seven," Marth replied.

The doors banged open which caused Nana got to her feet suddenly; Lola had just entered, talking to Popo about something.

"I'm going to go, see you guys later," she said in a low voice. She discreetly walked to the door, but just as she opened it, Lola spotted her.

"Hey Nan! Don't leave just yet!"

Heart pounding wildly, Nana pretended she didn't hear her, and slammed the door behind her. A blast of cold air smothered her face, but she couldn't feel it; she could only hear the beat of her heart, and wondered if Lola knew Nana was avoiding her.

She slowly made her way to school. By the time she'd gotten there her heart had calmed down to a steady beat and she was able to concentrate on something different.

The first thing that happened when Nana swung open the doors was Young Link. Again. He was waiting for her, arms folded across his chest, with a broad, mocking grin. For some reason, seeing him there wrought another sear of pain in her. She pulled herself together, and shook her head mentally.

"Like what you see, Glace?" he asked, referring to her last name.

"What are you talking about?" she retorted, trying not to look at his face. Every time, that happened she felt a hot flash of anger, and an undeniable urge to break whatever was nearest in sight. But it wouldn't do well if she had a murder on her school record.

"Look at the walls, Nan. D'you like _your_ decorations?" He sneered.

_Mine?_ Nana curiously looked up past him.

And shock immediately registered on her face.

_Underwear… It can't be… mine! How _did_ he get to that? He couldn't have… How…?_

There was loads of it everywhere. The flashiest, the most embarrassing ones too. Bright colors, that just seemed to glare at innocent passer-bys. They were _everywhere. _Draped on lockers, pinned to the school bulletin board. On the floor. There was also a big neon yellow banner on the bulletin board.

**_Decoration Property of Nana Glace_**

_**Two Fiis if you want to buy a piece**_

**_Contact Young Link Gaiden for more details._**

Young Link laughed at her face, prepared to insult her. But Nana wasn't prepared for him. She pushed past him to the school's bulletin. Luckily, she'd arrived so early, because there were only a couple people surrounding it.

"Nana?" Ribbon asked softly, tentatively. Somehow, the little fairy had found Nana. She had a garbage bag in one hand which was uselessly by her side. She had just read the banner.

"What?" Nana asked, weakly. She closed her eyes. More than anything, she wanted to cry. But not in front of Young Link. Definitely not in front of him. That would make it only worse. She would not act weak in front of him. She wouldn't make him think that she was a cry-baby. She wouldn't let him win this one.

"Are you alright?"

What a strange question to ask. Of course she wasn't. "Yeah," she replied, her voice cracking, and strangely high-pitched, "I'm perfectly fine."

She walked up to the bulletin board, and ripped off the banner.

"Hey, Glace! I'll give you four Fiis for your 'decorations'!" one kid said, actually reaching into his baggy jeans.

"When was the last time you washed those things?" a girl with ice blue hair asked, pinching her nose disdainfully.

The whole group laughed raucously.

Finally, she had managed to get the banner down. She crumpled it up into a ball. She was very close to tears now. But she couldn't… Not with Young Link watching… She couldn't stop the laughter; she couldn't drown out the jeering voices. Her cheeks were red from humiliation, and she could feel her nose turning pink, a warning sign for tears.

"Lay off her!" Ribbon yelled, suddenly. The tiny pink-haired fairy pushed all the kids defiantly. She managed to get to Nana, grabbed the wadded up banner, and stuffed it into her trash bag.

Everybody looked at Ribbon surprised. It was uncommon; Nana had to admit, seeing Ribbon raise her voice to a group of kids, some of which were older than her, and most of which were taller than her. She stared at Ribbon wonderingly.

"And you are…?" the kid with the baggy jeans asked. He cocked an eyebrow, trying to look intimidating.

"Does it matter? I'm sure half of you guys don't keep your shirts as clean as her knickers. Clear off! There's nothing to see here!"

She roughly pushed them off Nana. Slowly, the small mob broke apart, laughing it off uncertainly.

"Thank you," Nana said shakily but very much grateful to Ribbon. She looked at the fairy, who was staring down everybody fiercely who looked in their direction. It would've been funny, if the stare wasn't so hostile, and Nana wasn't feeling so miserable.

Ribbon put an arm around her shoulder, "Are you alright, Nan?" She asked gently.

Nana took a deep breath. The pounding in her ears stopped. Her heart rate was slowing down to its normal steady thumps, gradually. And just for that moment, when nobody cared but Ribbon, Nana had enough. She didn't care anymore about Young Link's pranks. As far as she was concerned, this prank was _nothing_ compared to what she'd seen in his room.

"Enjoying the decorations?" Young Link asked, staring at Nana, scrutinizing her blank expression, hoping to detect a spark of anger.

"Oh yeah," she said almost laughing. It was forced, but she prayed he wouldn't spot it, "I'd have to thank you for that. How many Fiis do I owe you?" she asked reaching into her wallet.

Young Link opened his mouth. Then closed them, before opening them stupidly again. "No charge," he said, bewildered. He seemed to be a little annoyed that she didn't seem the slightest mad.

"Really? Wow… you're really that generous, Link? Are you sure you're feeling alright?" she asked, pleasantly, though her insides were breaking at the sight of him. Instead of feeling the usual anger, she felt… nothing. And maybe just a bit of this pang of sorrow, that was tiny but hurt a lot. Like a paper cut almost. Except it was internal. And internal pain usually healed slower than physical pain, Nana had learned.

"I'm feeling fine," Young Link snapped. He didn't meet her eyes, and Nana felt the feeling evaporate.

"Alright, just wondering. If you need me to go to the Nurse's office though—"

"I said I'm fine, Nana," he snarled, looking up at her for the first time, "Go make out with your underwear, and leave me alone."

This remark didn't sting Nana or fuel anger either. She just took it in and stared at him turn and walk away, quietly.

"Yeah, and you can go make out with my best friend," she whispered angrily to herself. Slowly, she gathered herself and began to pick up the underwear, strewn about her.

It was lucky she'd come to school early, because by the time she was done picking up the last bit of clothing, people and creatures starting coming in, in full blast.

"'Ey Glace! What're you doin' with that stuff? Didn't know you had it in you!!" guffawed some random jock that Nana knew only by face.

Nana pretended she hadn't heard him, and turned away to her Latin Class, the place where she learned the language that was dead.

Even though she made it seem like he hadn't, Nana knew that Young Link had won.

**X.X.X**

Young Link let out a huge breath, trying to concentrate on what Ms. Britta was teaching on the board. But every time he bent down to copy the notes, her stupid voice popped into his head, erasing any hope of trying to learn what _x_ equaled to, and how to find out.

"_Are you sure you're alright?"_

The nerve of that preposterous, pink, pilfering Ice Climber! He hated that casualness she treated him with, as if she didn't care a whit for him. He was so sure that she would break down upon entering. Actually, she seemed really down before he'd shown her what he'd done. He twirled his pencil between his fingers idly, as he pretended to listen attentively to Ms. Britta. Briefly, he wondered about it. What had made her put up that face? He remembered her eyes huge, and rapidly blinking. Almost like she was about to cry. The civil, monotonous tone she'd used to reply back to him, though Young Link could feel her hatred and hurt radiating from her.

A piece of paper was shoved onto his desk. Young Link stole a cursory look around him, before unfolding it beneath his desk.

_What about lunch? I'd love to see you._

He blinked at the handwriting for several seconds, not comprehending to what it said. He glanced around. Lola's eyes met his and she winked at him. He forced a smile back at her, trying to ignore a wave of guilt that washed over him.

He felt good about it at first. I mean, what _wasn't_ there to like about Lola? She was gorgeous, level-headed, and perhaps bit spoiled and bossy but weren't all girls like that? He was rather excited about his first girlfriend. Her kissing was great too, and caused a stirring excitement within him that made him feel like he was doing something wrong that was also so right. Like he was risking something. It made him feel excited. It made him feel important and grown up. After all, he'd seen many other High School boys doing that with girls, and not many boys in junior high dated. Just the really popular boys and really popular girls. And even then, they seemed to break up after a week, and date their best friend a day or two later.

Every time Young Link mentioned how all the other popular boys had them to Link, the older elf would shake his head in disappointment and tell Young Link that they weren't _really_ in a relationship. Young Link tried to ask what he'd meant, but Link just smiled in his I-know-more-stuff-than-you way, and patted him on his head, before leaving.

And that, Young Link thought, staring at his barely legible handwriting, was why he never hung out with those other kids. He didn't want to commit a mistake that would make Link shake his head in disappointment like that.

He'd thought it would be serious with Lola. After all, he knew her better than most girls, and she was somebody whose heads turned on first appearance.

_But… That's first appearance…_ Young Link thought uncertainly. Truth be told, they'd never had a _real_ conversation. Young Link tried to bring one up a couple times, but two minutes into it, Young Link found himself and Lola either flirting playfully or he'd find himself making out with her.

And then, there was the _real_ reason why Young Link decided to go out with her.

Lola was Nana's best friend.

Young Link didn't want Nana to find out about their relationship, but Lola _knew_ things about Nana that Young Link could use to his advantage. It was the first reason he'd wanted Lola. Then came the gorgeous looks, popularity and whatever else Lola had.

It was how Young Link had access to Nana's underwear. It was how he'd gotten Nana to fall into his Rube Goldberg's trap. All Lola had to do was sit next to the seat it was intended for.

"Wasser, I'm speaking to you!" Ms. Britta snapped, losing her patience, which was rare, "Stop making eyes at Young Gaiden! You can save that until after lunch."

Lola blushed, while everybody tittered softly. Young Link caught Popo's eye, and to his shock, realized that Popo was ignoring him. That meant Popo disapproved of their relationship. This ticked off Young Link even more. What was it to him anyway? It wasn't Popo's business to get mad at Young Link's decisions!

The bell suddenly rang, signaling lunch time. Lola surreptitiously slipped over to Young Link's side, and grabbed his hand in hers. Her hand was warm, and Young Link felt pleased at the attention he was getting.

"How did Nana take it?" Lola asked in velvety tones.

"I dunno," Young Link lied. Lola had already been nervous about the whole prank. She didn't want to hurt her friend badly. But Young Link didn't want Lola to know that his prank had failed and that it was _he_ who was seething while _Nana_ was the one who walked carefree, as if nothing had happened.

Or maybe something _had_ happened, and this was just the least of her worries.

But whatever it was, Young Link knew that his prank had backfired. It wasn't him who'd won it, like most people thought. Young Link felt different about it. He didn't get his satisfaction.

Nana, he felt, had won this round.

**X.X.X**

"Where's Lola?" Kayla asked, as she bit into a crimson red apple. Its sweet juice rolled down her chin, and dripped gently onto her lap, but Kayla was never one to care about the mess she caused while eating.

"I dunno," Nana said honestly, though she had a good sense of who was _with_ her. Her plastic fork she was using to stab forkful of pasta, snapped in half under pressure.

Adeleine beamed at her food which compromised mostly of sugar. It was customary for her to do that; stare in awe at her food, before gulping the whole lot into her mouth.

Ribbon, in her weird empathetic sense looked like she knew what was going on, but did not comment.

"Maybe she has a _boyfriend_," Kumatora winked.

_Yeah… She does… Unsurprisingly…_ Nana thought as she started on her carrot sticks instead. Now that she thought about it… It did make sense they would hook up sometime soon. Who was she kidding? Young Link didn't know many girls personally, except for Nana and Lola and a couple other girls. But mostly Nana and Lola. And it made sense he'd pick Lola over Nana. Lola had everything a guy wanted. Looks, humor, not to mention, a sense of confidence within her when it came to guys. Besides that, Nana and Young Link _loathed_ each other. She smiled bitterly to herself. So didn't it make sense they would get together sometime soon?

Besides that, Young Link was a little popular subject among the girls, and Lola, according to Popo, was a very popular subject among boys. It made sense they would have to date somebody someday. And who better to pick but each other?

And what did it matter to Nana anyway? She hated Young Link? Remember? So didn't she approve?

"I wouldn't be surprised if she did," commented Kayla, staring at her apple thoughtfully, "I mean, she's a really fake person. Come to think of it, she's not really that pretty. She probably does all that fake stuff just to get laid. I mean se—"

"Kayla," Ribbon said in a rather sharp tone, "Stop it."

"Why should I? I'm just saying what she is. And you have to admit, Ribbon that she's a pretty shallo—"

"Shut up, Kayla. Are you any better?" Nana asked in a tired voice. After what had happened, she didn't want to defend Lola much, but what Kayla was saying was downright unacceptable. What had brought the mean bone in her body anyway?

"I'm not saying I am," shot back Kayla, as though she was expecting this question from Nana.

"No, but it sounds like it. And I trust what sounds like it, not the statement itself," Nana retaliated. She pushed her chair back, abruptly got up and went to go get a new fork.

**X.X.X**

"So, how was your day?" Ness asked breaking the stretching silence, in a pleasant, matter-of-fact voice. Young Link, Lola, Nana, Popo and Ness were walking home together.

Nana didn't say anything, but she caught the secret smile Young Link and Lola shared, and felt a burning desire to smack them off. Instead she kicked a pebble as hard as she could.

Popo, who wasn't aware of the scene ambled pleasantly at the far end and responded, "My day was good, I guess. I mean, it wasn't interesting, though I found out Lucas was going with Kumatora to the dance…" and Popo launched into a conversation on the pros and cons of Lucas, before starting on Kumatora, and why they should and shouldn't be. Nana didn't mind. She liked the fact that somebody was talking. It gave her time to space out, without anybody realizing it and it something she found herself doing a lot lately.

"What about you, Lola?" Ness asked.

Nana stopped spacing out, and listened to Lola's response.

"It was wonderful! I've never felt any better today!" she exclaimed happily, which vexed Nana. On the outside though, she remained calm. She was never been able to restrain her emotions within her, but now when she felt very unhappy it was child's play to keep them within her.

"I didn't see you at lunch," Nana said, in the smoothest voice she could muster, "Kuma, Adeleine and… Kayla… We were wondering where you'd gone."

Beside her, she felt Young Link stiffen, and that was all it took to confirm her suspicion, though she had never doubted it in the first place.

"Me? Well… I decided to sit with other friends. After all, I have friends besides you guys," she said. There was a hint of defiance in her voice, as if she was trying to prove Nana's seemingly innocent question, wrong.

"I know that," Nana replied, injected some ice in it. If Lola had heard it, she either didn't care or ignored it.

"Hey, Nana, I saw you with that 9th grader again. He seems really friendly to you," Ness suddenly said, changing the topic. Ness probably had caught on that there was a rift in between them. Smart boy.

"Oh yeah… He was really nice to me," Nana said thoughtfully.

"What's his name again?" Popo asked sharply.

"Oh, Pit. He's a really nice kid, Popo, so don't start on him," Nana said, irritably, when she saw Popo open his mouth in indignation.

"Oh yeah. He's nice… but then after he dumps you, he won't be!" snarled Popo.

"Popo, just shut up, will you?" Nana said, annoyed, "You're the most annoying person I could've ever hoped for as a brother."

"Who's Pit?" Young Link asked curiously.

"The opposite of you," Nana replied shortly.

"He must be bad then," Young Link said, trying to look nonchalant. He shrugged his shoulders.

"C'mon guys, give Pit a break," Lola said, "You haven't even met him. He's a really nice person, though he has a weird obsession with his wings."

"'Weird obsession with his wings'? Dude, he has _wings_? What is he, an angel?" Popo asked, unbelievingly.

"Yeah… He's an angel alright," Nana said at the same time Lola sighed it. Lola stared off dreamily. That was weird; wasn't Lola all over Young Link?

Apparently Young Link noticed it too, because he frowned, but didn't comment on what he saw.

"Nice person…" Nana trailed off thinking of the brown-haired angel who had walked with her to Geometry, "Even offered to pick up my books, when I dropped them."

Ness snickered, "An angel if I ever saw one. Does he have a date for the ball?"

_The ball. The ball. The ball! Who's going out with whom? What's going on? What are you wearing? Are you going? Why is everybody making such a big deal out of this stupid ball?_

"How should I know? I don't even know if he's coming or not," Nana said, irritably. Her foul mood had returned. _Stupid… Stupid… Stupid ball!_

She pictured the ball. It must be fancy. And Ness and Paula were probably going together (Though when Nana pictured them together, she didn't make such a big deal of them anymore). Kumatora and Lucas had already paired up. Popo didn't mind going alone or with friends. Marth and Samus, though they probably wouldn't be dancing much, since Samus hated dancing. Peach and Roy who would probably _always_ be on the dance floor. Link and Zelda, who were the equivalent to Wind Waker Link and Tetra, though Nana wasn't absolutely sure if Tetra was even going or not. Pit and his currently nonexistent date. And…

_And… Young Link and Lola._

She scowled at the thought, jamming her fists into her coat pockets, and slouching deeper into the coat.

Oh what did it matter anyway? It was just a stupid ball. Dressing up… was that ever any fun? And putting all that makeup which was probably stuffy, not to mention the dancing and flirting; two things that frightened Nana considerably. She couldn't dance, and she'd never tried flirting even once. The thought made her feel anxious. She'd never considered flirting before. She didn't know how, though she'd heard Lola did it many times. Where did that put her?

"…Day?" Ness asked, his eyes looking to Nana.

"What?" she asked, not comprehending to what he had just said.

"Your day," he repeated, "How was it?"

"Oh good, I guess. I'm happy this week is over though. It's been pretty hectic," she said, glancing at Young Link who smirked.

"I'm sure it has," he replied coolly.

The mansion finally came to view, and all five teenagers stopped talking.

**X.X.X**

"Holiday sign up! Sign your name if you're going to be someplace else for holidays, tomorrow!" Mario shouted, walking over Falco's outstretched legs, and stumbling over Captain Falcon's who had successfully attempted to trip him, "Anybody signing up?"

Ness, Popo, and Nana raised their hands. Lola and Young Link weren't in the room. How predictable.

While, Nana signed, she heard Ness tell Popo, "Yeah, I'll tell him to sign up… When he's not doing his private business…"

It suddenly struck her that Popo and Ness knew all along. It made her angry. Why hadn't they ever told her? Was Nana the only one unaware of Young Link's and Lola's relationship? She'd recalled yesterday that Popo tried to tell her, but Nana probably had a lot on her mind already. Things were happening so fast, she couldn't keep up.

"What?" she yelled at Mario who'd been trying to get her attention for the past few minutes.

"You're having a match tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock with Jigglypuff, don't be late," he told her in bossy tones.

"Says who?" grumbled Nana, who realized she'd be up early.

"Says Master Hand. You haven't had a match in quite sometime," Mario shot back.

_This is _so_ unfair! I haven't even had time to prepare, or train!_ Nana groaned inwardly to herself. Why was the world so cruel to her today?

With a final flourish that wasn't as graceful as it sounded, Nana handed the pen to Popo who seemed distant in his own thoughts. He snatched the pen from her, his mood seemingly sour, which was unusual for Popo. Unless he wasn't suspicious of Nana's love life, he was usually good-natured and an amiable person who was laid-back. His mood was rarely spoilt, and when it was, it was usually for a good reason.

Maybe she wasn't the only one who'd had a bad day.

**X.X.X**

**End of Chapter 7.**

**Yeah… I'm done with this chapter. I have nothing else to add, except please review. There's been a lot of "reading but not reviewing" going around, which irks me. A lot of my friends also experience the same thing. Yeah. Well, that's it then. I'm so tired. Constructive criticism is appreciated, and flames are allowed I guess.**


	9. Icicle Mountain Number 786

**Disclaimer: The wretch of a girl that goes by the name of crystalicios doesn't own anything Nintendo/HAL/SSBM related. 'Kay, thanks, bye!**

**X.X.X**

Nana fervently wished she'd had a better night's sleep. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably, she could feel her hands begin to grow numb, and the wind that whipped at her face, trying to distract her, seemed like nothing at the moment. She wished she had trained better; wished none of the past events had occurred to distract her.

She stared at her opponent's seemingly innocent eyes. They were round, disproportional to the body, and eerily pretty. They were a luminescent shade of green mixed with streaks of clear blues that was uncommon among most normal humans. Then again, her opponent wasn't human. They were devoid completely of the anxiety Nana was feeling at the moment. Either her opponent had hidden it very well, or she didn't have any at all. The latter of the two statements made Nana want to lose all her breakfast right on the metal she was standing on. She felt her stomach lurch uncomfortably, and she swayed on the spot slightly.

_Oh God… Don't pass out. Don't pass out. Don't pass out!_

"Ready?" the emcee was heard calling threateningly. Nana jumped at his booming voice. If Nana was part of the crowd, it would merely have sounded like the emcee was just as excited as the audience. But if you were up there, the emcee sounded downright nasty, and _wanted_ you to lose. She screwed her eyes shut, then opened them.

Nana clutched her mallet with both sweaty hands, wishing she could actually feel her hands move. She wished she didn't have to fight alone anymore. She wished Popo was at her side, fighting with her. But her thirteenth birthday had long passed, and it was Ice Climber tradition that children must start learning independence when they began to mature physically.

She didn't know why she felt this nervous. The irregular beat of her heart told her that if she didn't make this match, she was worse than dead. She wished her hands could cooperate. But they were mechanically latched onto the handle of her weapon, and her joints had frozen. Her throat was constricting, making it impossible for the amount of air Nana needed at the moment. She'd done this so many times—why didn't she feel like doing this now?

"_Go!_" The emcee shouted, to the roar of excitement coming from the faceless audience.

Nana froze. What? No! Maybe this was just some horrible nightmare… It had to be. Nana just wasn't prepared for this match!

_Please, oh please let this be a nightmare!_

**SLAM!**

It wasn't until Nana found herself lying on her stomach that she realized it wasn't. There was slight pain in her ribs, which came from the powerful kick Jigglypuff delivered. Nana knew it would hurt a lot worse later (judging by the slight throb she could feel from the wound), but because she was so numb, she couldn't feel it very well at the moment.

She scrambled to her feet and then slightly tripped, narrowly avoiding Jigglypuff's deadly Rollout move, which shot over her head. She felt clumsy and stupid, and she knew that the only reason she'd missed Jigglypuff's attack was out of pure luck.

She suddenly was reminded of the audience's comments on Jigglypuff. Most of them were that Jigglypuff was a weakling. It was understandable to think that, since Jigglypuff was soft, girly, and pink.

_They've never been hit by her Sleep Attack OR her rollout move… _Nana thought grimly, as she shot freezing air from her sleeves. The chill had missed her opponent by a hair's breadth.

Jigglypuff stopped spinning abruptly at the edge of the nose of The Great Fox, and spun in Nana's direction, sparkles flying from her breakneck speed. But this time, Nana was ready.

Shooting an ice-block from her palm caused Jigglypuff to collide with the cold attack, careen wildly into the air, immediately cancelling out the Rollout attack. Nana saw the Pokemon's eyes look dazed for a minute, before snapping back into focus. Jigglypuff floated to Nana's side, who immediately ran away, jumping off The Great Fox's big wing, and standing on the edge of the engine. She could feel the heat emanating from the fire that caused the great ship to fly. It felt incredibly hot. The heat was making Nana's eyes water slightly, and her heels felt like agony, but she endured it.

Jigglypuff headed straight toward her. Nana, discarded any thought on her heels and swung her hammer with all her might at the Pokemon, but Jigglypuff had been anticipating this; she did an air-dodge.

Unfortunately, it wasn't the smartest thing to do. Doing an air-dodge had caused her to move off the massive ship and since a player was not allowed to do anything after an air-dodge Jigglypuff plummeted to her doom, causing a bright light to shoot up into the heavens.

The audience erupted in cheers.

Nana wondered who was cheering for her. Was Lola even watching this? Or was she with Young Link? She also wondered about Popo. Was he still sulking, or had he returned to being himself? And what abo—

_**WHAM!**_

Nana flew off the ship, and before she could even comprehend what had just happened, she felt an unexpected burst of searing pain, that was vaguely familiar to her. The last image she saw before white lights winked into her eyes was Jigglypuff resting. And everything clicked into place, just as she heard the familiar hollow, _Boom!_ Which announced that she'd just lost a point.

**X.X.X**

"I was really hoping you'd win," the fourteen year old boy said. He wasn't looking at Nana, but was watching other kids play at the park, having fierce snowball fights, building snowmen, skating on the frozen pond, and other various activities Nana longed to join. There were couples roaming around the park, sipping their warm drinks, and cuddling together for warmth, whispering sweet nothings to each other that made them giggle and blush. Nana wondered briefly if that would ever happen to her too.

Nana sighed, slouching into the bench and stretching out her legs, so that they splayed over the sidewalk. She suddenly felt very tired all of a sudden and wanted nothing more than to curl up in her warm bed, shut her eyes and drift off into an eternal slumber.

"I was too, but I don't know. I guess I wasn't focused enough," she admitted, "It was a pretty close match though. 2 – 2 plus a Sudden Death."

Pit Palutena brushed the brown hair out of his friendly eyes, and finally glanced her way with a light, concerned look, "Yeah, you did seem to be pretty distracted…" he said.

Nana didn't say anything. She turned her head away from him. She didn't want to talk about it. It seemed now to her, that her whole life had been centered on Young Link and Lola recently. It was an unhealthy obsession, she knew, but she couldn't help herself. Every time she promised she wouldn't, she found her thoughts drifting back; like that subject was the Pied Piper, and she was the child, entranced and curious.

"How do you like Nintendo City so far?" she asked, changing the subject entirely.

Pit's eyes registered disappointment, and Nana wondered if she'd done the right thing by refusing to tell him. She knew he probably would listen to her, but she was more afraid of his response. She wondered if Pit would think her strange and absurd for have this hate and hurt towards Young Link and Lola. Or maybe he would see something in her that she wasn't ready for just yet.

Was she right to hate them both? Certainly Young Link. But what about Lola? Somehow the _both_ of them together made her want to put them underneath a big mallet and crush them so they became as flat as Mr. Game & Watch.

Pit smiled a smile that didn't quite meet his eyes when he answered, "Its… interesting. Exciting. It's definitely different here than up there," he chuckled pointing up.

Nana followed his index finger to the clouds and laughed, surprised.

"So you really are an angel?" she asked disbelievingly.

Pit stretched his wings proudly, "What do you think these things are for?" he asked.

"I dunno. To show off?" Nana joked.

"That too," Pit replied, his eyes full of amusement.

"What's it like up there?" she asked. It was a question a lot of little kids asked, but never got answers to. _What's it like up there…_ it sounded eerie, and all of a sudden, a shiver crawled up her spine, though she wasn't bothered much by the cold that swept around her.

"Cloudy," he laughed at his own wit.

But Nana did not meet his humor this time. Her eyes averted his, and stared at the dirty snow beneath her.

Pit noticed the flicker in her eyes and asked curiously, "Nana?"

"Can you see the dead up there?" she asked quietly. She didn't mean to ask, but it had popped out before she'd thought through it.

Pit's whole body twisted toward her in shock. "Nana," he began in a concerned voice, "Is there something…?"

But already Nana was regretting what had slipped through her mouth. "No. I'm sorry I asked. It was a stupid thing for me to ask," she said hastily.

Neither of them was facing each other now. Both were surveying the landscape with thought-ridden minds, so unlike the happy scene ahead of them.

Finally, when Nana's watch beeped, she got up, preparing to leave.

"I have to go," she said. She felt utterly stupid for have killing the light moment. She felt selfish. But she had really wanted to know. Would Pit have seen…?

"No," Pit answered. His bangs were covering his eyes.

"What?" Nana asked, confused and startled.

"I said, 'no'. We don't see the dead. I don't know where they go. Maybe they roam around in another dimension. Maybe they are reincarnated into somebody else. Maybe angels such as us… maybe we don't see their heaven."

Nana didn't say anything. Pit's blue eyes searched her's curiously. They were the color of a bright shade of the sky. And then she remembered her dream. Were Pit's eyes, the eyes that she'd seen in her dream?

Pit broke the gaze first.

"Nana…?"

"Yeah?"

"I wish…" Pit stopped mid-sentence, changing his mind. "See you later," Pit said finally. He got up, waved a half-hearted good-bye, and left Nana more confused than she'd ever been.

**X.X.X**

"I wish I knew what was going on in your head," Ness commented. He was leaning against the doorway, casually looking at Nana who was struggling to get her suitcase out the hall.

"What?" Nana asked, her concentration straying from the heavy suitcase.

"You seem quiet," he said. Nana couldn't tell if it was posed like a question or statement.

"Maybe I don't feel like talking," Nana said through clenched teeth, as she tried to lug her enormous suitcase out of the room.

Ness smiled broadly at her pained effort. Nana supposed that he enjoyed seeing her struggle. It made her feel even more irritated.

"Have you ever heard of helping?" she panted.

"Yeah… My mom said something about it once," Ness vaguely said.

"You should listen to her more often," she snapped, before she heaved once more. Her grip slipped, and she tumbled to the floor.

She hit the floor with a dull thud and exclaimed a shocked, "Ouch."

Ness uncrossed his arms, and stood up straight.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, in a concerned voice.

"No, not really," Nana said. She pulled herself off the floor and sat on her knees. She looked up at the ceiling and let out a frustrated roar.

"Mmm… Good," Ness said vaguely, with no indication that he really cared for her answer. His eyes were on the suitcase.

"Thanks for the sympathy," Nana sarcastically muttered. Sometimes, she really failed to understand Ness. One minute he was sympathetic, the next, he really didn't care about your feelings.

"Shut up for a moment?" Ness asked in a nice tone that was laced with irritation.

Nana opened her mouth, but then realized her suitcase was glowing blue.

The suitcase floated two inches off the ground, wavered slightly, and then dropped with a thud. Ness let out a light gasp.

"What the hell did you put in here? Rocks? Dictionaries?" He hissed, cursing lightly to himself.

"I fit the whole Grand Canyon in there," she answered sarcastically.

"Glad to know that you know your Earth Studies stuff," Ness said shortly, again concentrating on the suitcase.

Nana fell silent again as she saw the blue glow envelope the suitcase again. She watched Ness's eyes strain slightly, and watched the suitcase slowly lift off the floor, wavering slightly again. She could almost hear the connection between Ness's brain and the suitcase. It was groaning, whining, straining, and almost about to snap.

Then the connection thickened. The suitcase shot up a foot and stopped abruptly, still encased by the blue glow. Ness's face was red, and his eyes were squinting so hard, they looked closed but Nana knew they were open. She could feel it and hear it screaming inside the silent room.

She slowly got to her feet, and walked tentatively up to the now immobile suitcase. She put a hand on it and was surprised to feel heat emanating from it. Like it was sweating from the strain Ness was feeling at the moment.

She put her other hand underneath it, and gripped it suddenly. She watched Ness's face grow calmer, as he released some of his energy.

They both carried it down the stairs, Ness being two feet behind her. Slowly, they progressed to the Portal Room.

The Mansion was depressingly silent. Nobody was in sight. It was the day that the Mansion would be empty. Captain Falcon, Kirby, Samus, Mewtwo, Mr. Game & Watch, Marth and Roy were the only ones staying behind. And probably Lola. It was going to be a very silent week for them.

For a minute, Nana sympathized for them. No families and no real friends other than the ones made in the mansion. It must be horrible.

"You're going then?" Roy asked sullenly, when they'd turned a corridor to find him sulking. Roy didn't like the Mansion empty. And he especially didn't like half of his clique leaving. The only people for him to converse with were Samus and Marth, who would probably shut him out and do what couples normally did. Around just Samus and Marth, Roy felt like a third wheel. Obviously he wasn't in a good mood.

"As you can see," Ness replied, from behind Nana.

"You too?" Roy raised an eyebrow. He seemed even more displeased.

"Yup," Nana answered for him. She resisted the urge to flash a smile at him. Making Roy annoyed was something Nana dearly wished to do, but with a suitcase in her arms she didn't think it was quite wise—especially when Roy was equipped with a sword.

Roy grunted something nasty under his breath. He forced out a horrible smile that didn't match his sad, angry eyes, "Have fun then."

Ness's eyes showed concern and fear, and Nana was surprised that she could feel it when she touched the suitcase. She sensed his will to move away. She and he edged away from the pyro-gifted swordsman.

They finally dropped the suitcase off with the rest of the luggage. The strain was over.

Ness heaved a huge breath and clapped his hands together and exclaimed, "Finally!"

Nana felt her arms weak and loose. She couldn't have agreed more with what Ness had said. But she didn't say anything.

"Shall we head to the Portal Room, then?" Ness asked.

Nana turned her head toward him. She looked at him, evaluating him. Though it had been only a couple days, it seemed like years that Nana had gotten over her crush over him. She couldn't understand when it stopped, but suddenly it hit her like full force that she didn't like him, like she'd once had. She wondered, searched through her memories of the past couple days, but couldn't find out where it had stopped. It just… slowly shrank away until it was nonexistent.

"Nana?" Ness asked again, nonplussed at the way Nana was giving him the calculating look.

She looked into his dark eyes, looked over his messy black hair, his good-natured freckles that were attractively sprinkled over his nose, as if his creator had decidedly added them because Ness wouldn't be the same boy everybody loved without them. The baseball cap that was perched carelessly sideways on his head, and his striped blue T-shirt and long shorts. She couldn't figure out what made her stop. Or indeed, what made her begin.

"Are you alright?" He asked, "Hellooo? Did the aliens take you too?"

"Yes," Nana answered distantly, faintly, "I just… realized something."

Ness did not inquire further. He looked at her furrowed brow and had a faint sense of what she had found out. If he wanted to, he could've found out exactly what it was, by perusing her mind, but Ness didn't abuse his psychic powers. It was the number one rule to his powers: Don't abuse it. Respect other people's minds and privacy.

"Are we going?" Nana asked vaguely.

"Mhmm," Ness answered, just as distant as she.

They both exited the room, feeling as though they'd gotten to know each other better.

**X.X.X**

Young Link, Ness, Nana and Popo stood in a dark room that was lighted by the "thing" in front of them, in the center.

The "thing" was what transported them to their wished destination. It was their portal. And it glowed with brilliant lights, magical and powerful.

It looked like a large bubble, as big as a dresser, with its clear shell emanating different toned glows. Pink, blue, green, yellow, black, white, brown… Every color you could think of. The bubble floated just a couple inches off the floor, making it look even more mystical and eerie looking.

Popo stepped up first. He confidently let his palm against the bubble's glass shell. For a moment it just seemed solid. Then amazingly the glass seemed to react against the warmth of his skin, because his hand slid easily through. He stepped in hesitantly, and walked into the very center of the bubble. He winked at the others, and then shouted, "Icicle Mountain, numbers seven-eight-six!"

He looked completely stupid for a minute, just standing there. Then the bubble's outer shell turned all-together a beautiful shade of blue, which made one think of calm water. Then amazingly, he disappeared. Not instantly. He became kept becoming more transparent, until he was gone.

Ness bravely stepped up next. He repeated Popo's motions, letting his hand press against the glass first, and then going in. He shot a warm smile at Young Link and Nana before shouting confidently, "Icicle Mountain, numbers seven-eight-six!"

The sphere glowed a warm yellow color that reminded Nana of a sunny meadow. Then he was gone too.

"You going next?" Young Link asked gruffly.

"I know you must be scared, but that's okay. I was going next anyway," Nana coolly responded.

"I was just asking. I _am_ going," grouched Young Link, who couldn't let Nana's remark of being cowardly slide, and doing the exact thing that Nana wanted him to do.

He copied Ness and Popo's motions, shouted the familiar phrase and waited. The sphere seemed to pause. Nanas watched as the sphere finally chose a dark red color. It reminded her of confusion. She wondered about it. But before she could dwell on it, Young Link was gone too.

"Goodbye," she said softly to the Mansion's walls. Her second home. Strangely, she felt homesick for _this_ home.

She let her left palm graze against the cool glass. Her palm slid through the glass which now felt like water.

Once inside, she looked at the room out of the protective bubble she was in. The room outside was distorted.

She took a deep breath, shouted, "Icicle Mountain, numbers seven-eight-six!"

She waited and watched the sphere take a dark, lush green color. It smelled, looked, tasted, felt and was heard like envy.

Then she was gone.

**X.X.X**

"Mom?" Popo yelled, just after Nana arrived.

Silence.

Popo and Nana exchanged looks. Ness and Young Link quickly glanced around the room they were in. It was totally different from the home both of them had experienced.

Ness, who had lived in the suburbs his whole life before Super Smash Brothers started, was startled to find everything looking so… different. The living room they were standing in was unmistakably old and cozy. Nothing was new here, nor was store bought except perhaps the outdated radio, the Game Cube, the TV set and other various electronics. A fireplace with roaring, cheerful flames lit his face. From a glass window with its frame made of unsmoothed wood glinted merrily. The rug he was standing on was clearly home-made. The brown couches seemed to be of remarkable craftsmanship, though they were not factory made.

As for Young Link who'd spent most of his time living in a tree was more familiar with these surroundings, yet still surprised. He'd seen most of the things inside the living room, but it just seemed different, yet almost the same as his own home.

"Mommy?" Nana asked in a softer tone.

Young Link wanted to snort. What kind of a person still called their mother "mommy"? He nudged Ness in the ribs slightly, so that he could share his amusement.

Ness smiled uncertainly.

"Nan? That you?" A hopeful voice called.

The voice that had answered rung of delightfulness, and laughter, encased with syrup and honey. The voice was heard like chocolate, rich and dark. It made Young Link think of fresh laundry, a home-cooked dinner, and hugs that smelled comfortable and fresh.

Nana did not reply, but she darted toward the voice. Popo hesitated, before following.

Young Link and Ness were left alone in the living room, uncomfortable. They didn't know what to do.

"It's… Different," Ness said, feeling stupid for once and not knowing what to say.

Silence.

"Yeah," Young Link replied, feeling equally as stupid as Ness.

Silence again.

Voices could be heard from the kitchen. Soft laughter, erupting into a booming, rich chuckle, followed by Popo's voice, pleasant, made Young Link want to be anywhere but here.

What exactly the small family was saying was to each other was lost by Ness and Young Link. Suddenly, the rich chuckle turned into a stern voice, "Left… Them… Alone? You know better than that!"

And then Ness and Young Link found themselves listening to three sets of footsteps heading their way.

Popo first came into view, looking cheerful. Nana came next, a smile on her face and shining eyes of joy.

Last but not least a woman entered. The first thing Young Link realized about her was that she was nothing like Nana, despite her looks. She had the same untamed hair as Nana did, though at the moment it was wrapped in a bun and the same shaped eyes. If it weren't for the expression and the smile wrinkles that lined her face, Nana and her mother would look exactly the same.

But it was the expression that set her apart from Nana. Young Link could see that Popo had inherited his mother's gentleness. Mrs. Glace had a sort of motherly expression on her face, accompanied by a smile that made him feel… _wanted_. Her eyes shone with Popo's gentle twinkle, as opposed to Nana's fierce ones. Her nose didn't seem quite as sharp as Nana's was, and while her mouth was set into a soft smile, Nana's was usually seen biting her lip in confusion, or else always half-smiling.

"H-Hi," Ness stammered. Young Link could see that he was shocked by the woman's appearance. Young Link had to admit it himself, she was too young to be a mother, and yet, she had the wisdom to be it.

Mrs. Glace's smile became warmer, and it reminded Young Link forcibly of hot, melted chocolate.

"It's a pleasure to see you," she said, her tone as warm as the smile. She wrapped her arms around him, and embraced him like he were no different from her children. Ness flushed deeply, unsure of what to do. In the end, he returned it.

Then she turned to Young Link who, for the first time, could see why Nana was always homesick. He never knew his parents, and though the Great Deku Tree acted like his parent, it still wasn't the same. He looked back at Mrs. Glace's friendly face and felt a smile tugging at his lips.

"I've heard a lot about you, Link," she said, her eyes twinkling. She hadn't used his full name, rather just calling him, "Link" like the rest of his friends had.

"About?" He found himself asking.

"I've seen you fight onstage. You are remarkably good," she said before adding, "But I hear you're an annoying prat."

Young Link stared, not sure if he'd heard correctly. He wasn't sure that this seemingly kindhearted woman had just insulted him.

Nana flushed darkly and exclaimed, "Mom!"

Mrs. Glace's eyes adopted a mischievous twinkle, "You seem to get on my daughter's case a lot, from what I hear."

"Well…" Young Link didn't quite know what to say. He chanced a sideways glance at Nana's face that was looking down shamefully. For some reason, this seemed to amuse him.

"Good. I need somebody to keep her on her toes," the woman laughed softly.

Everybody, except Nana laughed. She was still glaring at the floor, as though trying to shoot laser beams from her eyes, through the plush carpet she was standing on. Nobody noticed though.

Young Link had never experienced this feeling before. It was strange and wonderful. It certainly wasn't like the feeling he felt in the Smash Mansion. It was the feeling of sanctuary, protection, and enjoyment at the same time. He had never experienced home like it was now.

_Maybe it won't be so bad here, even with Nana, moping around… _He silently told himself.

**X.X.X**

The floor was set, the suitcases were unpacked, and Young Link really had no idea what he was doing, sitting cross-legged on the floor, staring at a plate of food.

"Is something wrong?" Mrs. Glace asked, when she noticed him and Ness sitting awkwardly on the floor.

"The floor too bad for royalty?" Nana sneered sarcastically out of pure spite. It was meant for Young Link.

"No," Ness answered back. "I've just never… Eaten on the floor."

Popo smiled and said, "It's… Icicle Mountain tradition. Tables are only used formally when eating. Otherwise, we sit on the floor and eat."

"It's… weird," Young Link said, decidedly. He'd never eaten on the floor, even in his tree, unless he was camping.

This prompted Nana to softly say, "I like eating on the floor better."

"So… are we going to eat? Or do we have to do a little prayer?" Ness asked, grinning.

"Well," Mrs. Glace said, setting out a jug of fresh water on the bright red mat that everybody was sitting around, "First, we slaughter one of our chickens, and smear their entrails around the place where we eat. Then we all get up, and march around the place mat thirteen times, chanting our special prayer of the Ice Climbers, while wearing robes of white."

Young Link and Ness's faces shot up, horrified.

Nana and Popo laughed while Mrs. Glace sheepishly explained, "I was kidding. We don't even have any chickens."

Young Link and Ness laughed weakly. They'd never met a mother like Mrs. Glace before.

"So then what are we waiting for?" Young Link asked.

"Well… Lola's mother is coming to dinner. She stepped out, but she'll be here any moment now."

Barely two seconds after she'd uttered those words a knock sounded on the door.

"That must be Lila!" Mrs. Glace exclaimed. She straightened herelf and went to the front door.

There was a great muttering from the door before Mrs. Glace entered in along with another woman.

This woman seemed fragile and ready to break. She seemed soft, sensitive, and totally unlike Mrs. Glace who seemed modern, warm, and unbreakable though perhaps flexible.

Although she was attractive for a mother, you could tell she had aged more than Mrs. Glace had. Dark shadows were underneath her eyes, and her watery blue eyes seemed sad. Her black, shiny hair was tied up in a loose bun, with loose ends hanging all over her face. Her form was that of a dancer's, tall and lithe, but she seemed to sag with overbearing burdens of something that was secret to outsiders.

A smile dimly lit up her face, which forcibly reminded Young Link of a very tragic heroine. The kind who patiently waits at home for her lover to return from the war, only to realize that he's dead.

"I recognize these two wonderful Ice Climbers, but who are these other two handsome young men?" she asked, feigning ignorance. Her voice was beautiful. It wasn't warm and rich, like Mrs. Glace's, but it was lucid, and bright, and well adapted like that of a singer's. It reminded Young Link of Christmas bells.

"This is Ness," Mrs. Glace pointed to the PSI boy, "Who's very smart."

Ness blushed and stuttered modestly.

"And Young Link," she said. "He's a troublemaker," she said, though it was in an affectionate way.

Young Link smiled as innocently as he could for effect.

"Ahh… I've heard of you," Lila's smile deepened, "You're my daughter's…"

"Yes," Young Link responded, cutting off what she was about to say next, though by then, everybody except probably Mrs. Glace knew what she was about to say next, "Where is she, if you don't mind me asking, Mrs. Wasser?"

"Call me Lila," she responded with a smile, before she frowned. "She's at the mansion, isn't she?"

"But she said she was spending holidays at your house," Young Link insisted. "She told me."

"If she was, she should be here," Lila said, "My house unfortunately was… destroyed. By an avalanche." Her eyes dropped to the floor, and she took in a sorrowful, big breath.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Young Link responded and his tone was sincerely contrite.

A nasty silence settled in the room. Nana's stomach was churning uncomfortably, and her heart rate was racing in the worst way possible. The shock that coursed through her body was numbing her, drowning into incomplete thoughts.

_How could I have forgotten…?_

_How could I have not told her…?_

_How long has she been here…?_

"Nana," Mrs. Glace's warm demeanor had vanished, replaced by a quiet, cold hesitancy. "You told Lola about… What happened did you not?"

Everybody's eyes were on her. She swallowed painfully, looking at her legs which were tucked neatly underneath her.

"I… It… Slipped… I forgot," she stammered.

"You forgot," Mrs. Glace repeated. Nana swallowed hard again. She did not like the tone her mother was using. It wasn't anger, like Nana would've preferred. It was cold disappointment.

Nana stared at her dark blue jeans, burning holes of guilt through them.

"Nana, do you know where Lola is? And her condition?" Mrs. Glace asked, in the same chilling voice that was laced with a tone that suggested she was let down by her daughter.

"I… in the house?"

"Which house?" Lila asked tremblingly.

"Yours," squeaked Nana. She stared at her fingers. She honestly did not mean for this to happen. She never wanted Lola dead. Hurt her maybe for recent events that had occurred, but never to kill her.

Lila's watery blue eyes actually did fill with tears. It seemed as if the artist who'd created her, had added to much water to her watery colored eyes, and now it was overflowing, over her pale skin.

"Get out of here," Mrs. Glace said.

Nana's face shot up, and stared at her mother's stone cold face.

"Mom, I'm sorry. I—I didn't mean…"

"You are not allowed in here, until you bring Lola here. Alive."

Nana stared at the floor, in humiliation. Everybody's eyes were on her. Ness's who was shocked and unsure of how to respond, Popo who was filled with fear, disappointment, and unbelieving, Young Link, who wasn't staring at her in hate, but in shock, that didn't make her feel so hot. But the one that made her feel worse the most was Lila. It didn't hold an accusing glare, but rather just disappointment… and more sorrow.

"What are you waiting for?" Mrs. Glace asked in her same horribly cold voice. Her tone was set, like she wouldn't put it any other way.

Nana slowly got up. She stared at everybody's faces, lingering on Lila's the longest. Then she turned around, shakingly and opened the door to reveal the cold. Everything outside was painted in mostly dark blue and black. Whistling wind was mostly what Nana heard. A chill ran down her spine.

She slammed the door behind her.

The warm bright light from within her house suddenly seemed to taunt her. She had to get Lola back.

She walked down the familiar pathway, to Lola's. She remembered it was about two miles away, but she wasn't sure if she could recognize it now that it had been wrecked.

Nearly two minutes from shutting the door, she heard the familiar creak of the door opening again.

She whirled around, and her shoulders sagged in disappointment.

"Oh. It's you," she simply said, and turned away to begin walking again. Stupid Young Link. Either he'd come to gloat, or berate her for being so careless. It was nothing new to her, really.

He wasn't looking at her when he caught up to her, but he said defiantly, "I'm going with you."

She was mildly surprised but she hid it and forced out a yawn, "Oh really? How heroic. I couldn't care less."

"Let me get this straight, Nana. You screwed up once really bad, and when I save your sorry behind by helping you, you can't even show some gratitude?" Young Link asked in disbelief. How ungrateful could Nana get? Again, she did not show the reaction that he had wanted to see most, and it was ticking him off.

This time Nana looked him in the eye and stopped in her tracks. Young Link stopped too. How stuck up could this Kokiri get? He expected her to say thanks after all this pain he'd caused her?

"Oh yeah?" she asked sarcastically. She meant to keep quiet but she couldn't. She couldn't stand keeping up her cool demeanor. She couldn't stand just sitting around and let him walk all over her like that _and_ expect gratitude for that!

She exploded, "Thank you! Thank you for turning my hair pink and making me late for school! Thank you for spreading my underwear all over the place! Thank you for seducing Lola, so she could help you with your stupid schemes to embarrass me! Thank you for ruining my life at Super Smash Brothers, Link. You and I, we both know that you aren't here to help me. That isn't your real motivation anyway. You're here so you can save Lola! That's the only reason you're here. So let's get that straight!" She stopped, and stared at him angrily, pouring out what she'd wanted to say to him the whole time. She heaved in liberal amounts of air after she was done, like she'd run a five mile course. She was sick and tired of keeping it to herself. The rant had made her feel good, in an angry sort of way.

Young Link's face was shadowed, but Nana could see disbelief in his eyes, and shock. She decided to say something else.

"Yes, I do know that you and Lola are dating," she said stiffly, as though she'd answered a question he had just asked.

Young Link recovered and asked irritably, "So? What's it to you?"

Nana stared at him in awe and disbelief.

"I'll tell you. It's everything. Lola was—is—my friend. She's partly the fault too, but because I screwed up worse than her, she's off the hook. And guess what? I couldn't care less if you were both dating."

The last words she'd uttered were completely untrue and both of them knew it.

"Then why are you making such a big deal out of it?" Young Link asked, trying to act casual, but straining to hear the answer.

They had started walking quickly, trying to out walk the other.

"Because…!" Nana stammered, figuratively slamming into a brick wall. What was she supposed to say next? Even she didn't know the answer to that question. She continued inventing what she was going to say as she said it, "She's my best friend! Wouldn't you be mad if… if I and Ness were going out, and I used him to prank you? Wouldn't you?" she added in a tone so quiet and hesitant, Young Link could barely hear it.

"No," Young Link said, as though she was crazy. Again, both of them knew that it wasn't true. The truth screamed out from the lie into the wind. They both glared at each other from the corner of their eyes. The truth was blaring in their eyes, yet none of them wished to actually speak it or think it.

"You're going the wrong way," she pointed out stiffly, two minutes later. She'd let Young Link take the lead, since she knew perfectly well that he didn't know where to go.

"Well… then where is the right way, little Miss I-Know-Everything?" he asked in a sarcastic smarmy tone, having a crazy urge to push her away, so he could think in quiet. He needed some time to think. What Nana had told him before aroused questions. Up until now, he'd thought his teasing her hadn't done any real damage. Maybe it frustrated her at times, but up until now he hadn't really thought of her feelings. Every time he pictured Nana, he thought her incapable of feeling, or otherwise just never really reacting to whatever he did.

"Maybe if I took the lead, you would know," she shot back.

Any thought of curiosity, sympathy or regret towards Nana vanished, replaced by old feelings "Fine! Take the lead! See if I care!"

"I will."

"Good."

"Good."

**X.X.X**

**END OF CHAPTER 8**

**Yeah, 17 pages of AoD must make you sick right now right? Well, loads of stuff happened. Review, read, whatnot. And oh… Have a wonderful, belated-April Fool's Day! Nobody tricked me during April Fools but I was tricked a lot after the day actually happened. To tell you the truth, I'm about the most gullible person on earth. I'll believe anything you tell me XD. Anyway… -Insert crystalicios whoring for reviews here-**


	10. Rescue Mission Part 1

**A/N: Oh jeez! I'm sooo sorry this is late. I actually had it done awhile back, but because it was so long (yes, I consider 24 pages entirely too much) I had to cut it back to 12. The next chapter will come on Saturday if I have it edited by then, to make up for the loss of time. Also, I'm going to be visiting my relatives, somewhere, far, far, far, faaaaaar away (Unless you live in Asia, it's probably not THAT far XP)**

**Disclaimer: I don't not own Nintendo, etc. etc. **

**X.X.X**

"Great," snapped Nana, "Just my luck."

"What now?" Young Link asked wearily. They had finally stopped arguing about fifteen minutes ago, and Young Link wasn't complaining about the silence between them though he _was_ getting sick of seeing just white around here. It was white, and it stretched on for miles. He couldn't even tell where the sky met the earth on the horizon line because everything was white, white, and white. White at night. It was, if possible, even worse than greenery back in his home, where even the normal bright orange carrots had a greenish tint to them.

"Well it's not you for once," she shot back. She blinked at the sky, and her suspicions were confirmed.

It was starting to snow.

Though Nana loved snow, winter and everything associated with it, she could not stand the verb, snowing. It drove her nuts because it was inconvenient in every way; it confused her, brought on blizzards, got into her hair, her eyes, and generally made a mess of everything. It was just like rain. She couldn't understand why people thought snowing and raining was so romantic. It was just stuff falling from the sky!

"I should hope not," he said, and for once it wasn't a cutting remark. He lost his balance, taking a step, and fell unwittingly face-flat into the snow.

Nana turned around to face him, and rolled her eyes, successfully biting back the laugh that threatened to ruin her pissed off mood. She didn't want to him to know that he could make her laugh even with all this snow. She tapped her foot impatiently and said in what she hoped was an annoyed voice, "When are you planning to get up?"

Young Link reply was muffled by the snow, but two seconds later, he got up wearily and whined, "How much longer?"

"Two minutes more, I'm supposing. Though with this damn snowfall, I could just as well be lost."

"You got us lost?" Young Link asked, his voice changing from a whine to disbelief and unflattering awe.

"I never said that," Nana snapped.

"You just said, 'I could just as well be lost'. What am I supposed to assume? That you're not lost?" Young Link asked sarcastically. He couldn't believe Nana had gotten them lost. Women… They never get the directions right! He scowled at her, and was displeased to find that she wasn't even looking at him.

"Just shut up for a minute. I'm trying to think!"

"Think? About what? How we'll survive in this… Snow?!" Young Link asked hysterically. He was starting to get panicked, and wished he'd never gone on this rescue mission, "We're gonna die. Is that what you're saying? All we have in this stupid landscape is snow! Are we going to survive on snow?! Is that what you're saying?" he picked up a handful of the soft, cold stuff and to emphasize what he was saying he began to nibble on it. "This is just great Nana! You couldn't have been a better guide!"

A resounding smack greeted his left cheek. It stung.

"SHUT UP!" Nana roared. She irritably brushed the snowflakes whirling gently on her. _I swear, I think I'm a snowflake magnet or something!_

She turned around and squinted at the landscape. For several minutes, both of them stood there, Young Link was rubbing his cheek. There was probably going to be a mark there later on. It always amazed him how girls could hit so hard sometimes, and then were completely useless on the Soccer or Basketball field. And why was it that they _always_ had to be rescued? For as long as Young Link could remember, he'd been saving mostly girls like Saria, Ruto, Zelda… It went on and on! But then again, Nana _was_ kind of like a tomboy, so he didn't doubt her more-than-girly strength.

"This way," Nana said in a dead-set voice.

"Are you sure?" Young Link asked, sourly.

Nana shot him a murderous look and saw her hand twitch, which made him hasten to add, "That is to say, I'm sure you are. But you never know."

He took a step and almost tripped again. He considered himself lucky this time, since he deemed Nana angrier than he'd ever seen. And just because it was snowing nonetheless! Nana was certainly a very weird person with weird mood swings.

"We're here," Nana announced, abruptly stopping. Young Link almost walked into her again, but caught himself just in time.

"I can't see a house," Young Link objected, squinting just in case it was further off. All he saw were a couple of dead trees (Surprisingly black, and _not_ white) and a small, but tall hill that was almost impossible to see because it blended perfectly with the sky and snow.

Nana rolled her eyes, "That's because there's a mound of snow on _it_, you numbskull."

Suddenly Young Link realized what that small, tall hill was.

"I didn't realize snow was going to be on it," he said, surprised. Was Lola really _inside_ that mound?

"That's nothing new, coming from you, is it? Not expecting snow on the house when it's been hit by an avalanche?" she shot back. Honestly, did he _ever_ use his head? Nana was starting to doubt that Link and Young Link were related.

"Jeez, what's with you?" Young Link asked. He crossed his arms defiantly stalked all the way up to her until he was a mere two feet away from her, and glared down at her. He was pleased to see some fear and surprise in her eyes but it didn't stop him from angrily bursting out, "Ever since this whole journey started, you've been treating me like a… a pile of dirt! At least treat me with a little respect! You're even worse here than at the Mansion!"

Nana stared up at his blue eyes, now contorted in anger and bewilderment. She hadn't seen him angry up close, and it scared her for a minute. For a moment, she wanted to say she was sorry, and distance herself from him, but then she recovered. _He can't see me scared!_

She pushed him away with her arms angrily. He stumbled backward, surprised. She irritably responded, "In case if you haven't noticed, Link, we aren't the best of friends. We aren't even on neutral terms. In my life, all I see you as is a big nincompoop whose only purpose in life is to ruin the lives of girls who are called Nana! And lucky you! One of them just happens to live at the Mansion. And so, it just so happens that my best friend is in there…" she pointed at the big mound, "…dying, and all you can do is sit around complaining and making this even more difficult than this is." She paused for a moment, then looked at him in the eye and said with a tone of disgust, "And you're supposed to be her boyfriend."

She stalked off easily in the snow. Young Link hurried up to her, annoyed that he couldn't move that graceful in the snow as she could. He caught up to her, extended a hand and grabbed her on the shoulder tightly. He asked, "What do you mean by that? I… I am her boyfriend!" the last word had sounded weird coming from Nana's mouth, but it sounded even stranger when Young Link had uttered them. Did he really consider Lola to be his girlfriend? He released her slowly, the unwanted questions drilling through his head.

He swallowed.

"You can't just be her boyfriend by name. You have to show it too," Nana said, taking a deep breath, as though trying to calm herself down. Her cheeks were flushed, though from anger, the cold, or embarrassment, Young Link couldn't tell.

"I _am_ showing it. I'm here, aren't I?" he asked.

"Yes you are," Nana answered, sighing as though she were tired. "But you aren't exactly making us go faster either. Lola's life could be in danger, yet you insist we talk about this subject, when we could easily do it some other time."

"Oh please! I'm sure you just want to avoid the subject, that's why you don't want to talk about it right now. We're still moving anyway," he said pointedly, looking down at his moving feet.

"No, I don't mind talking about it, Link. The fact is, I don't want to talk to _you_," Nana said brusquely. And she sped ahead, before Young Link could say a word.

_Liar. He probably knows I'm lying when I said that…_ Nana said, but she had, in a way been sincere about it. The truth was… What was the truth? Nana frowned inwardly. She couldn't answer this question.

As for Young Link, surprisingly, it stung almost as bad as the slap she'd delivered to him earlier. Everybody had always wanted to talk to Young Link. He had always known how to converse with people. It was probably one of the reasons Young Link had so many friends in school. He always knew what to talk about, when to talk about it, and also when to keep his mouth shut. Knowing that one person really didn't wish to speak to him, made him feel… Well…

Worthless.

Young Link mentally shook himself. Oh who was he kidding? It was only Nana Glace they were talking about. Like she mattered at all in his life! She was just an object that he found amusing to annoy. It was probably just this frigid air that made him feel anxious about her opinions.

Yes, it probably was the cold.

"The door is locked," Nana said, when Young Link had caught up. It was lucky that previously, somebody (Probably Lila trying to salvage the irreplaceable things in her home) had dug out all the snow blocking the front door. But now, as they both faced this rickety, soft, fragile door, she wondered if they'd come here in vain.

"Knock it down," suggested Young Link, who obviously didn't care about the consequences.

"Yes, but… Doing that could make the whole house collapse," Nana said, hesitantly fingering the doorknob.

_Damn girls and their useless worries! _Young Link thought. He pushed Nana aside carelessly, ignoring her protests.

He lifted his leg up, so that the flat of his foot was in the very center of the door.

He took aim…

And shot his foot through the door. It snapped into pieces and fell to the floor.

Silence.

"M-maybe we should do this another time," Young Link stammered, when he realized how many pieces there were.

"Why?" snapped Nana.

"13 pieces! Thirteen is an unlucky number!" Young Link said, "I learned it in Earth Studies!"

Nana swore, making Young Link flinch.

"Listen, no offense, but people who live on Earth are retarded. I repeat. Re-tar-ded. Most of them believe in this poppycock that doesn't even exist in their world! And I'd've thought you thought about your precious Lola more than your thirteen pieces," she sneered.

Young Link whirled around, about to shout an angry retort, but Nana smiled sweetly and added, "Gentlemen first." And saying so, she pushed him in.

He was blind the moment he stepped in. Everything was dark, and even though there was no door to keep out light, it didn't make much difference because it was night time.

"Whoa… It's dark in here," he heard Nana's voice, and felt her warm breath inches apart from his right ear.

He jumped, scared. Once he'd recovered from his shock he grumbled, "Do you have to stay this close to me?"

"To be quite honest, I didn't know how close I was to you," he heard her reply smoothly but he could tell she was as much shaken up as he was. To his relief however, her voice was a little further away from him.

He could hear his own scared breathing and for the first time in his life, he was thankful that he had Nana by his side. He did not want to stay here alone, with somebody possibly dead in the same house he was in. The thought gave him the chills…

"So… Now what?" Young Link asked.

Silence.

"Nana?" The feeling of panic was back. If everybody could see him right now! He was supposed to be prided for courage! But right now, it was dark; he was alone in some godforsaken place.

"Nana, this isn't funny!" yelled Young Link.

"Shut up," hissed Nana's voice to his relief. It was closer to him now.

"I would've before if—"

"We aren't alone," Nana cut him off brusquely.

This shut him up. And now that she said it, he could feel a presence… lurking and watching him.

He felt something brush against his sleeve, and his hand went flying into his hilt. But it was only Nana.

"Take my arm," she muttered into his ear.

"Why?" he murmured from the corner of his mouth. This was ridiculous! He didn't want to hold her arm! He could feel his cheeks reddening at the mere thought, and wondered if Nana felt the sudden heat in the room too.

"Do you want to be left alone in the dark?" she asked, still more quietly into his ear, but this time there was a hint of anger in her voice.

"Do you?" he shot back.

"No," Nana answered, quite honestly, "Even if my only choice was with you."

"Where are you going?" he whispered.

"I'm getting a flashlight. I know where they're located."

"The light will only attract _them_ to us!" Young Link responded indignantly.

"What's the point? They know we're here and they can already see us," Nana admitted nonchalantly. She paused for effect then added, "Besides; we'll never get Lola like this."

"You've got a point," Young Link grudgingly admitted. He took her arm (or rather her coat sleeve, since it was so thick, he couldn't even feel her arm underneath all that mass), and she hesitantly started walking in the dark.

"Are you scared?" he asked, not really looking for an answer. It comforted him when he was around noise. Silence and watching eyes made him uncomfortable.

"Not really," Nana's voice admitted.

"You aren't?" Young Link asked skeptically.

"Nope. But…" Nana started hesitantly, "…If I was doing it alone… I probably would have been."

It took more than what was needed for Young Link to register what she had just said. And when he did Young Link almost let go of her arm. Almost. But he decided there were other pressing matters to think about.

"Same here," he admitted. It was embarrassing to talk about this to Nana. It felt alien to not talk to her with hostility and to admit that they actually _needed_ each other's presence in this situation.

"We're here," Nana's quiet voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Where _is_ here?"

"The kitchen. The emergency supplies are supposed to be here. That includes candles, flashlights and whatnot."

He was suddenly aware of an overpowering stench. Like something had just died, or rotten food. It was nearly unbearable, and he silently retched.

He heard a drawer door open and something scrabbling through it. A second later, Nana let out a sharp cry of pain. The drawer door was slammed shut.

"What happened?" Young Link asked anxiously.

"I… Stabbed myself. It's nothing serious," she said, through clenched teeth.

"If you say so," Young Link responded softly. He heard a cabinet door groaning open.

"Found one!" Nana exclaimed triumphantly.

"Take two," advised Young Link. "There are two of us."

Nana did not respond, but handed Young Link a flashlight.

"Turn it on," she urged.

"I know," he snapped, hostility returning. He wasn't completely stupid at these things!

He clicked on the switch, and prayed that the thing in his hands wasn't out of batteries.

A brilliant white light filled the room, momentarily blinding him. He shook his head, and his eyes cleared.

The kitchen was a mess.

Spoons, pots, pans, forks, and even knives littered the floor. Garbage that reeked of five weeks old was on the floor. He almost vomited just from seeing it.

"Those _things_ did this, didn't they?" Young Link asked.

"If you mean the Topis, then yeah."

"Topis did this?!" Young Link asked skeptically, "We're talking about those furry animals that push ice blocks at you in the Icicle Mountain stage, right?"

"Well… Not _exactly_. These Topis in the house… Well… I'm guessing they're the mutant forms. Normal Topis generally don't cause much harm, and sometimes they're even friendly. But when I, Lola, and Popo were born an idiot who called himself a scientist was living around here and accidentally spilled a large amount of an unstable chemical into the river. Most Ice Climbers didn't drink from it for a year. We bought water instead.

"But what you must understand is that the Topis didn't know that, and they drank from the river. Half of them changed into… the ones that I'm assuming are in here. These are more vicious and aren't as cute as the Topis you see in my stage. Most Ice Climbers have died or moved away from Icicle Mountain because of them. I encountered one once, like three years ago, and if it hadn't been for… Well… I was saved."

Young Link was about to ask who it was that saved her but before he could a low growling punctuated her last sentence.

A frightened look came onto Nana, "That's them. You'd better be prepared."

His racing pulse was back.

Something shifted on his right, he beamed the flashlight around, but there was nothing there. He could hear his panicked breathing again and was relieved to find out that Nana was also breathing heavily.

"Let's get out of here," Nana shakily said. He could see her breath coming out jerkily when she spoke the words. Young Link nodded his head.

They both exited the kitchen and found themselves in the living room.

They were not safe there either.

Three mutant Topis snarled at them. Young Link gaped.

Each Topi's eyes were rolling madly, hungry and incapable of thought. Their beaks had been replaced with a mouthful of bloody teeth.

_What if that's Lola's blood?_

Young Link tried to force that thought away. Their mouths were held up in a terrible, lopsided grin that looked partly that of a dog's and that of a bird's. It was as if they could sense the children's fears and knew who was causing it and there was drool hanging down their lower lips in thick ropes. Their bodies weren't short, squat, round-like and furry like a normal Topi. They were covered in bristly, short fur that was a dirty brown color. They towered over Young Link and Nana, about six feet tall. And they had arms, muscular and thick, with sharp claws coming out. They looked like they could slice through Young Link and Nana like butter.

He felt Nana tighten her grip on him, felt her tense up against him.

"Watch my back," he muttered.

There was no reply, but he felt her shift over. Now they both were facing outward back to back, their weapons raised.

The Topis edged nearer, closing in on them, snarling, growling, their eyes betraying hunger and insanity.

"When I say to strike, I want you to strike," Young Link said, his eyes fully focused on the beasts that continually circled nearer.

"Link!" Nana cried out warningly, when one of them snarled particularly loud with ravenous hunger.

"Shut up!" Young Link hissed, but it was too late. At Nana's cry, the beast's leapt in.

"NOW!" roared Young Link.

He slashed at the air the first time, rolled away from the beast and struck it on its ribcage. The beast howled in pain.

He glimpsed over at Nana who was struggling to fight two of them. She was doing very well on her own, but she was no match for both of them. Each blow from them, made her take a step back, and she was drawing closer and closer to a corner…

This was what Young Link was used to. Confronting creatures, and then killing them. The unknown, Young Link now realized, was his weakness.

Young Link quickly whipped out his fairy boomerang and hurled it at the Topi. It struck him across the forehead, and fell to the floor, instead of returning to him. He swiped at it, trying to get it, but ended up rolling sideways, narrowly dodging the Topi.

_I'll have to get it later…_

He slashed the Topi in its back, on its left shoulder, but this Topi was particularly vicious. The more pain that it had caused, the more enraged it seemed to get. Young Link was starting to get tired, and knew that if he didn't finish this battle soon the Topi would finish him off.

This thought awakened him even more, and he backed away from the beast nimbly, making sure not to trip over everything. He took out his bow and arrow, aimed, and then fired at the beast, hitting it squarely between the eyes.

The Topi howled in fresh agony, reeled backwards, forwards, side to side, and then finally slumped to the floor, defeated.

But Young Link's victory was short-lived; he heard a shriek to his left and swore mentally. He'd totally forgotten about Nana.

She was slumped against the wall, panting heavily. She had felled one Topi but the other was still alive and had made a nasty gash on her shoulder, and blood was steadily dripping out of a long cut, which extended from the base of her neck, to the edge of her shoulder. Her left hand was wrapped around her right shoulder in an effort to stop the pain. Her eyes were closed with a pained look, her face was pale and she was shaking. Her expression was that of a wounded animal quietly accepting defeat.

Young Link charged at the Topi, his sword posed as a battering ram. He hit the Topi, hard, and his sword went right through its chest. The Topi uttered one faint whimper and fell backward. Young Link ran out just in time.

Everything was silent except for Young Link who was panting heavily taking out his sword, and Nana who was whimpering quietly to herself.

"Are you… alright?" he panted. He slumped against the wall and attempted to catch his breath and wits.

Nana opened her eyes, surprised and stared at Young Link. She nodded emphatically, but Young Link saw her futile attempt to prevent the blood from flowing out. It was falling out thick and fast like liquid crimson rubies. For one crazy moment, he wanted to let her know that it would be okay. He wanted to erase the strained look on her face, he wanted to erase the pain and do something about it. But then reality struck, and he let go of the desire unwillingly, reluctantly.

"…Lola. We still need to get her," Nana said in a high-pitched voice. She stood up firmly, though still limp. She wobbled uncertainly on her legs, before she was standing straight. She wobbled over to a table nearby, and opened a drawer, searching for what appeared to be a handkerchief. After successfully finding one she attempted to stop the flow of blood with it.

Young Link nodded tiredly. He reached for the flashlight he had let go while fighting the Topi and beamed it around the room. He caught sighed of his boomerang, picked it up and stowed it away before searching the room once again.

"She isn't here," Young Link said.

"Lola?" Nana called out softly.

There was no answer.

"Lola!" Young Link cried out desperately, his voice echoing the walls.

Silence.

And then they heard a faint noise, like a cross between a sigh and moan coming from above. Both Nana and Young Link lifted their heads toward the ceiling. Young Link shone his flashlight in the spot he'd heard it. There were various holes in the ceiling, and a pale, slim white hand was sticking through the biggest one, limp and looking…

…Dead.

"We have to get up there," Nana said faintly. She awkwardly walked out of the living room, still clutching the handkerchief to her shoulder and Young Link followed her.

They passed through another room, and then finally were met with the stairs. They were rickety, unstable, and looked like they could collapse any minute. Splinters stuck out at odd angles, and the way up looked foreboding, dark, and dank.

"I'm going up there," declared Young Link. He was about to set foot on the first step, but Nana stopped him.

"No! I'm going up. You're probably heavier than I am, and its better if the lighter of us get's up there. That rules out you. Wait down here."

"But… You won't…"

Sighing, Nana looked him in the eye. She tried to understand why he was protesting. She tried to understand what his arguments were against her valid ones. And after a moment, she understood. Or she pretended to anyway.

"Listen… I know you want to save her. I know you're her boyfriend, and I know you're supposed to be the macho man and whatnot. But even though I'm hurt, I still have a better chance making it up there than you."

Young Link said nothing against it, but a shadow of surprise crossed his eyes. Was Nana actually attempting to understand him? For once in his life, Young Link saw Nana lower her defenses, even if it was just a little just by giving him that look. Just that moment, he could actually see Nana as… Human.

As she turned to go, he suddenly grabbed her by the wrist, surprised by how warm it was.

It was the cold probably…

Yeah, it was definitely the cold.

He felt her stiffen against his touch.

"What?" she snapped, her head turned away from him. Whatever he had seen in her that one brief moment was gone. Whatever that thing was anyway. Inwardly he winced. It was the stupidest thing he could've done. Now he had to think of an excuse to make up for it.

"Just… Be careful," he said finally. Stupid! Stupid statement! She would surely snap at him…

And to his surprise the briefest of smiles flickered on her face as she turned to face him. Only for a moment. Then it was gone, and so was she. He felt her gently wrench herself away from him.

And before Young Link could object, Nana took a step. The stairs creaked, groaning under her weight. She stopped in the middle of the steps, breathing hard. Only halfway more…

_Snap!_

Horrified, Nana shrieked.

_Run down? Or up?! Down is safety and the ground! But if I do that, I'll lose Lola. If I _do_ save her, how will I get out?_

One decision…

**X.X.X**

**End of Chapter 9. Chapter 10 coming out… ehh… Saturday hopefully. I already wrote it, but eh… I'll space it out for you guys, k? k.**

**Review pwease? x3**


	11. Rescue Mission Part 2

**I'm resubmitting this document (thank you sooo much Royal Kenya for making me aware of this error!) because something weird happened with my paragraphs. Hopefully my paragraphs are spaced out right this time. **

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything copyrighted here.**

**X.X.X**

Nana gripped the railing with her good arm…

_Snap! Crack! Thud! Sna-_

There was no time to think.

She dashed up the rest of the stairs, just as the whole staircase collapsed. Cursing, she threw herself on the top, as the last of it crumbled away.

"Nana?!"

Nana grunted and sat up. The wound on her shoulder was throbbing from the excitement. She put a hand over it in an effort to stop it but it made her feel uncomfortable, twitching.

"Are you alright?" she heard Young Link's anxious voice penetrate the dark air. She took out her flashlight that she'd gotten from the kitchen, beamed it on and shone it toward the corridor that lead to Lola's and another bedroom.

"I'm… Good," she called out weakly. She winced, as her shoulder gave a particularly nasty throb. She looked down the staircase. What remained of it were three of the top steps and part of the fourth. A pit of despair opened within herself. How was she ever going to get back down?

"Hurry up then!" Young Link called.

"Thanks for the sympathy," grumbled Nana to herself, as she got to her feet. "Lola?"

She listened hard for an answer.

Then she heard the noise. It sounded like a soft sigh, the breath just barely escaping the sigher's throat. Nana's head jolted toward her room.

Groping her way through the dim light, she stumbled over the damp carpet, her heavy breath unfurling before her eyes, because it was so cold and because she was so scared.

She leaned against the wall, and dragged herself steadily nearer to the door. Finally she pushed it open, and saw a heap on the floor. Her heart swelled painfully and she hobbled over to Lola. She knelt down, and gingerly pulled away the clothes covering Lola. At once her throat constricted, as her need for air became greater. Why was it that the times you needed oxygen to calm yourself down, it never came? She knew that if Lola ever saw herself like this, and had the strength, she would choke Nana to her doom. Nana stared at the body stupidly, wondering if that really _was_ Lola.

Lola looked a mess. Her face was a pasty white, and her face looked slightly swollen. Her lips were a chilly bluish purple. Her eyelids were closed, but Nana could see her actual eyes moving underneath them restlessly at the noise Nana had caused. She seemed to be fighting sleep. Unexpectedly, tears sprang up in Nana's eyes. She half picked up Lola and embraced her.

At Nana's warmer touch, Lola slowly opened her eyes halfway.

"Nan?" Lola croaked unexpectedly.

"I am so sorry…" Nana said her voice cracking and trembling in an unnatural high-pitch as she felt Lola's arms go around her weakly. She felt Lola's fingers tighten momentarily against the fabric of her coat.

There was a pause.

"No… I'm… sorry…" she weakly said, sighing through her nose. As Nana pulled back, she was startled to see tears in Lola's eyes too. There was no question as to what Lola could be referring to. So Lola knew that Nana knew… She probably had chosen not to say anything about it, for reasons Nana didn't understand.

Lola's mouth opened but whatever she was about to say, Nana never knew. Lola had fallen asleep.

Nana brushed away her tears, pulled Lola's arm out of the hole it was sticking through, and when she peered through the hole she saw Young Link gazing up at them.

"You got her?" Young Link asked tentatively. There was a tightness in his voice that showed he really _did_ care if Lola lived or died.

"Yeah, but she's… sleeping," Nana said. She was slightly alarmed. What if Lola was slipping into a state of hypothermia? She shook Lola's shoulders slightly to see if she was awake.

"Mmm…" Lola sighed.

"How are you gonna come down?" he asked.

"I don't know…" Nana admitted, "I can make the hole bigger, drop her through and maybe you can catch her?"

"That's a little risky," she heard him say uncertainly with a slow voice.

"Do you have any smarter ideas?"

"I can use my hookshot…" he said uncertainly again, "But I'm not sure…"

Nana weighed their options carefully. And though she hated to admit it, the hookshot plan was the best idea.

"Alright then, I'm going to widen the hole," she said curtly. She dragged Lola to a safe place, took her hammer out with her good hand, and praying that the whole floor wouldn't collapse, she swung at the floor.

_**CRE-AAACK!**_

Splinters flew everywhere. Her bad arm was furled against her chest tightly, tensed. She struck again. And again. The task burned her wounded shoulder, but it was the only way to get out of this place. Finally there was a hole wide enough to fit a person through. She took a couple steps backward.

"We're ready!" she softly called into the stillness.

There was silence before she heard something whistling through the air and something sharp protruded through the hole next to it.

"Send her down!" Young Link called up.

Nana turned toward Lola and froze; the young teenager was in a slumber.

"Lola!" Nana whispered urgently. Nana shook her lithe body, and slapped her sharply across the face.

Lola opened her eyes and protesting in a slurred voice, "Nana, I want to… to… slee…" her eyes were drooping again.

Nana dragged her to the hole, hoping that this floor wouldn't collapse into the first floor because of their combined weight.

"Lola! Wake up! You'll die if you sleep!" Nana hissed into Lola's ear.

"Nan… I can't… hel… help…" Lola's words were garbled, and Nana couldn't understand what she was saying.

"Keep talking," Nana replied in what she hoped was a soothing voice. Anything to make Lola stay awake. Because if Lola died…

_She won't._

"…Nangh… I… so… sorree…"

This was getting them nowhere. "Lola isn't in a state to come down. You'll have to carry her," Nana said.

"Me?" she heard Young Link reply in an incredulous voice, "Can't you?"

"Not really," Nana replied, using her left hand to apply pressure lightly to her wound. A tiny wave of pain coursed throughout her and she winced inwardly, "My right arm is…"

"Oh yeah," Young Link said, cutting her off. There was a brief moment of silence before he asked, "How am I supposed to get her? The stairs are gone…"

"Oh, I don't know," Nana said sarcastically, "Let's sit around and think about that, shall we? Oh! You know what?" she asked in mock surprise, through gritted teeth, "I just thought of a great idea! Maybe you can pull yourself up with your hookshot!"

There was silence on the other end, and an amused Nana could almost hear Young Link's head furiously searching for an adequate reply.

"What if the ceiling collapses because of our weight?" he asked, thinking of nothing else, and hating himself for it.

"You'll have to risk it," Nana said, closing her eyes, suddenly aware of the cold enveloping her. It was especially bad on her cut.

"Alright then," Young Link sighed. She heard the hookshot retract upwards slowly. She heard the floorboards groan under the weight, but they held fast much to Nana's relief. By this time her eyes had adjusted to the gloom of the room and the darkness that had already invaded Lola's feminine room permanently.

Her eyes traveled over the once pink walls, to the bedside table with a flowery lamp that had a deep crack on it. Nana smiled reminiscently. Echoes of Nana's and another person's laughter echoed across the room suddenly.

"_Lola's gonna get mad!" Nana giggled as her dark eyes met her partner in crime, "What are we gonna do about that lamp?"_

"_Pray she doesn't get me deaf with her yelling," he tittered, and both of them erupted into laughter, their small bodies shaking._

"Well…? I could use some help," Young Link snapped coldly out of the blue.

Nana blinked and the flashback vanished from sight.

"Sorry?" she asked, disregarding his cold tone.

"I need Lola Wasser," he said in slow deliberate tones, as if he was speaking to a mentally slow person. "Can you please get her here?"

"Oh yeah. I wasn't paying attention," she answered, stating the obvious. "I'll get her now."

She turned around to Lola who was now whispering inaudibly. Partially frozen spittle was trickling down the corner of her mouth and her eyelids were drooping steadily.

"Hurry up!" Young Link snapped, "My arm is killing me, just hanging here."

"Alright, alright! Jeez!" Nana said, rolling her eyes. She dragged Lola by the arm, thanking Lola mentally that she was so light and half-shoved her down the hole, so that her legs and torso were hanging, while the rest of her body was lying on the floor above. She saw Lola's body move, as Young Link slipped his free arm around Lola's waist and drag the rest of it towards him so that he had her in a tight embrace. His head was on top of hers, and looking at Nana for a reaction, before he lowered him and her to the floor.

Disgusting.

Nana was glad she couldn't see it properly. She heard Young Link lower himself to the ground, and waited until he'd reached the ground before realizing that she herself couldn't. More than anything, she didn't want to depend on Young Link and admit she was weak to him.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Young Link asked after a moment's silence, "Slide down my hook shot."

"I can't," Nana said, grudgingly, feeling the slash on her arm, and wincing softly.

"What? You want to freeze here then?!" Young Link asked, annoyed. He added, "Fine, freeze. I'm taking Lola home though."

"Yeah, because I really want to die in this house," he heard her muffled reply. "My…" she suddenly seemed embarrassed, "I can't get down."

"Why?" asked Young Link inquisitively.

_Jeez! He isn't making this easier for me!_ She thought. She opened her mouth to tell him about her useless arm, but before the words came out a vision of Young Link holding her close to him as he had to Lola flashed in her brain. Her cheeks burned despite the cold.

"Never mind," Nana replied irritably. "I'm coming down."

And she used her uninjured arm to grip the taut chain. Right away, she knew she would have to be quick about it, or she would fall down. Her right arm was in agony, just because she was tensing it. She let out a breath, and wrapped her legs around the skinny chain, but it was still not enough. She was stuck on his hook shot, and could not go up or down. She heard Young Link talking to Lola, muttering in a low voice, but there was no response coming from her. _This was a bad idea… Crap… Crap… Crap!_

"Can you be quicker about it?" Young Link asked, irritably, and as Nana looked down, she saw his face pull a concerned look towards Lola.

Carefully, she tried to inch down, trying to shift her legs. She held her breath, continuing to edge down, closing her eyes. Bit by bit, bit by bit… bit by…

…Bit.

"Damn it! What's taking you so long!?"

Nana's eyes flew open, her concentration shattered. Her leg slipped from its stiff position and she felt herself flying. The wind whipped through her hair, as she felt her hood fly off. It was even colder than she'd expected it to be. She let loose a scream, screwed her eyes shut, and prepared to meet the cold, hard floor.

Instead, she hit something soft and warm. She heard the "something" let out a hiss. She lifted her head, and opened her eyes to see Young Link's face inches apart from hers. She watched his scrunched up expression smoothen, and his startlingly blue eyes open in surprise. She felt her cheeks grow warm, and her heart race as they stared at each other, and suddenly everything around them grew quite still. A curtain of Nana's hair was surrounding them both, isolating them from the world, making time go still. Nana, however was hyperventilating.

_Is he underneath me? Why aren't we moving? Why are my cheeks growing warm? No… No! He can't see me blushing! Wait… I'm blushing? Why am I blushing?!_

And then, as if she knew that she was momentarily forgotten, Lola let out a dream-like sigh.

That was when the wind started blowing again, and both teenagers felt the cold hitting their faces again. That was when they started hearing their own confused, fast-paced heartbeats.

It was Young Link who broke their own silence. He shoved Nana off of him and to make up for whatever had stirred within him he rudely said, "You're heavy."

Nana, who was on her knees now looked away, trying to restore the normal color in her cheeks. She swallowed and replied, "Then I hope I suffocated you."

But there was none of the usual venom in her voice when she said it. The irritability in her voice seemed half-hearted.

_What's going on?_

"Should we go?" Young Link asked, looking anywhere but at Nana.

"I suppose… so…" she answered, her voice dangerously close to cracking. She watched him pick up Lola, placing one arm underneath where her legs bent, and the other around her shoulders. Lola sleepily protested, before going back to sleep, wrapping her arms around his neck. The most curious expression crossed Young Link's face, as he looked down at her, as though he didn't recognize her. His eyes held a look of bewilderment, and Nana vaguely wondered if he was just as wrapped up in his thoughts as she was.

The blood that pulsed beneath her skin felt like it was on fire, and her heart would not calm down, choosing instead to frantically beat against her chest. And when she saw him picking up Lola the way a groom would to a bride, she felt a powerful ache slowly spread within her, reminding herself the reason why Lola was like this in the first place.

"Is something wrong?" Young Link asked, watching her expression take shape. She still seemed shell-shocked. His own heart had calmed down to its regular beat, but his brain had not. He had to force these troublesome thoughts away for now though. It wasn't the time to think of them.

Nana looked up, but didn't say anything. Instead, she looked past him, smiled blandly as if that was her answer to his reassurance, and walked towards the door, outside.

**X.X.X**

"You seem to have put a lot of trust in Nana," Ness commented, glancing nervously at the clock once more. "What if she doesn't make it back?"

Dinner had finished an hour ago, and all four of them were in the living room. The television was on, showing old reruns of a black and white show that none of them were really paying attention to.

"I know she will," Mrs. Glace responded. Her fierce demeanor had vanished ever since Nana and Young Link had left and it was now replaced by the warmth she'd once had displayed before. "If I knew she didn't, I wouldn't have sent her in the first place. Trust me," she said with an air of confidence. "I'm not really mad at her, but I had to pretend to, so she would have enough will to rescue Lola."

Popo seemed undisturbed by this little bit of news, but Ness looked up in surprise, "So, you don't blame Nana for this?"

"It was just a mistake," Mrs. Glace said, smiling faintly. "Even the greatest person can make a mistake such as that. But Nana still would be held responsible if Lola dies. That is why I had to force her to rescue Lola like that. I know Nana can do it. She might come back injured, but I feel it is her duty to learn to never commit a mistake such as that."

Her attention turned to Lila, who was huddled at the end of the couch. An old wool blanket was wrapped around her delicate frame, and her eyes were trained on the television, though she was fooling nobody that she had her undivided attention towards the humorous black and white show.

Ness sighed and glanced at the clock once more.

12:34 A.M.

**X.X.X**

It was becoming even more difficult for Nana to walk through the falling snow. She glanced at Young Link who looked like he was doing better than her, despite the fact he was carrying a person.

They looked like a movie. Young Link being the male hero, saving his damsel in distress, Lola, who looked pretty even when her lips were blue, and she was babbling nonsensically.

Where did Nana fit in the movie? She fit… nowhere. She wasn't the cute chick that Young Link fell for; she wasn't even the villain that Young Link had to defeat to get to Lola. Maybe she was just the ally who helped defeat the baddies, and never got any credit. Yeah, that was probably her.

She let out one deep sigh, and glanced at the starry skies.

_I wish _I_ was being held the way Lola is being held at the moment…_

The wind was blowing even more fiercely now, and Nana was having trouble trying to navigate through the snow. Each time a gust blew her way, her shoulder throbbed painfully, and she gritted her teeth to keep from crying out in shock. It wasn't that the wound was deep. In fact, the wound would probably close up in three days time, but Nana was never good at enduring physical pain.

If Young Link noticed her pain he didn't say anything. But every time a flash of pain shot through her, he glanced her way with a look that almost showed concern. But he never asked if she was okay or if she needed help.

_And why should I? My hands are already full with Lola!_

But there was a nagging feeling tugging almost madly at the innards of his brain, and it had started tugging ever since she'd fallen on him. The polite thing to do to Nana was help her to her feet, ask if she was alright and apologize for not knowing that she was incapable of climbing down his hook shot because of the pain in her arm. But he had instinctively reacted by throwing a rude remark, like he'd always done before. But after spending this much time with Nana, after risking their necks to save each other's lives and their own, after confronting their fears and depending on each other, and _especially_ after seeing her… on him… his guilt was ragging him after treating her like dirt and making that stupid comment about her being heavy, which was really a lie. Though her fall did knock the wind out of him, she wasn't heavy. She wasn't really light either, but that was beside the point.

He felt a need to confront her about it. What he saw in her eyes. What he _felt_ about that. What exactly did he feel? He glanced down at Lola who had stopped blubbering and was half-asleep. She looked pitiable, and he blamed himself for not calling to attention that Lola was missing before. He knew that nobody was blaming him, but he still felt that Nana wasn't entirely responsible for what had happened, which was strange considering that when he _had_ left the house he thought otherwise.

Lola had a faint smile playing upon her lips. What did he feel about what had happened there in the wreckage? He glanced at Nana who was failing miserably to act tough, and stand straight. Her figure was slumped lopsidedly, her silhouette resembling that of a monster and her jaw tightened every time a shot of pain coursed through her. Then he glanced at Lola. Pretty Lola. A girl whom everybody wished to be. Lola whom he was holding like a lover right now.

What he'd felt back there with Nana… That was nothing.

It was really just the cold.

"Are you alright?" Young Link asked timidly. Might as well start acting like the civil gentleman towards her. Anything to get rid of this feeling that tugged at his heartstrings just enough for it to cause guilt.

"Yeah," Nana lied through her teeth. Young Link glanced at her skeptically.

"Alright not really. My arm feels like crap at the moment," Nana said, wincing. There. She'd said it. Admitted the weakness she was feeling. She braced herself for the brutal teasing.

None came. Instead, when she stole a glance at Young Link, she saw his face in a mask of quiet reflection, taking in the information. A face she'd seen rarely on his face. It was a little startling to see it there. Somehow it seemed alien, yet she found herself seeing the adult Link once again like she had at the dining table in Smash Mountain not too long ago. It seemed much time had passed since that incident.

A gust of wind swept through her hair, making it flatten against her face. She brushed it away, and when she snuck a glance at him once more, she found him looking at her. The expression was gone though and was replaced by the usual boyish look on his face. And though he didn't say anything it was clear from his expression that he was laughing at her.

Not _with_ the remark she had just made.

_At _her.

Argh! How infuriating!

**X.X.X**

"It's half past 12 o'clock, Mrs. Glace," Ness remarked, trying to make his tone nonchalant. "Aren't you going—?"

"You know," Mrs. Glace said, cutting him off in a tone that was straining to be nice, but was failing miserably, "You worry too much."

"But its twelve o'clock and your child hasn't returned yet!" Ness exclaimed.

Popo had sunk over the couch so that his belly was resting on the horizontally flat part of the couch, and his head was leaned against the bottom-most part of the vertical part, while his legs were splayed out over the carpet. With a thoroughly bored expression, he yawned, "Oh please… Don't start you two. You had this argument exactly four minutes ago!"

Ness crossed his arms and shot Popo a glare but didn't comment. Sometimes, he really hated the fact that Popo could just lie here comfortably without a care in the world, while his little sister (albeit it was by four minutes, but Ness chose to overlook that piece of information) could be in danger. Ness really liked the fact that Popo was so calm and never seemed stressed out, but sometimes it got really annoying.

Like now.

Lila had changed her spot various times. She was now huddled up in a dark, isolated corner, the blanket drawn over her head, mouth, and whole body. Her eyes were looking at the TV screen with zombie eyes. The scene would've been comical if it weren't for the present situation.

_**Bam. Bam. Bam. Bam!**_

"Speak of the devil," Popo muttered not even bothering to get up.

Lila shot up to her feet like an excited child, and zoomed over to the door, her once lanky hair flying wildly about her.

Mrs. Glace gave Ness a triumphant look as if she'd just won a bet. Ness, annoyed, just simply got up and followed Lila out the doorway.

"My poor baby! Oh my baby! I missed you so much! Oh you are so pale! Your lips are blue, and oh my poor little snowflake, I love you so much!"

Lila's shrill shrieks were heard throughout the house.

Nana and Young Link (who had just been relieved of Lola) caught each other's eye.

_Poor little snowflake?!_

They looked away, trying desperately not to laugh even though both of them were tired, and more than anything wanted to be in a warm, dry bed.

"…A hot bath to get your blood circulating and perhaps Nina can get some of her herbs to reawaken the senses…?" Lila was asking, holding the slumped Lola against herself.

"Lila… It's perfectly alright, I'll do what I can," Mrs. Glace said, taking Lola from the other woman and examining her hesitantly.

"Hm… She'll live if she gets a hot bath, and a lot of rest. Best start boiling the water now in fact! Lila, please get Lola to the bathroom," she said, after feeling Lola's rather slow, sleepy pulse. She snapped her fingers at Popo who immediately rushed away to get the water ready.

Mrs. Glace gave Lola back to Lila, who followed Popo out and headed toward the kitchen.

"I'm glad you two made it back," Ness said, slapping Young Link on the back. Nana noticed the blond-haired boy's legs buckle, and realized he was almost as tired as her. Well… He had carried Lola the whole way, hadn't he? He was obviously very good at hiding his feelings; up until now she hadn't noticed his tiredness.

"Yeah, it was nothing," Young Link muttered dismissively. "At least nothing compared to some of the stuff I experienced."

_Ahh… the thing he's best at; bragging while sounding humble._

"It didn't look like 'nothing'," Ness replied skeptically, taking in Young Link's windswept hair, his disheveled, ripped clothing and the sweat spots that patched up in some places, despite the cold.

He turned to look at Nana who was sitting on the floor and fumbling with her boots trying to take them off. She hadn't realized how numb her fingers were up until now. But now, in the normally gentle heat of the house, her fingers felt like they were on fire as did her cheeks, her neck and other sensitive, unprotected parts of her body.

"Nana! What happened?" Ness exclaimed, noting the blood stain that had blossomed over the upper part of her clothes. It didn't hurt much anymore. It was probably because the cold had numbed it down, "You're bleeding!?"

Nana made a face at him and turned to look at her wearied down shoulder blankly before murmuring, "Why yes, I suppose I am. It doesn't hurt anymore though…"

"_That_ doesn't hurt?" Ness asked in awe, raising an eyebrow.

"Chill Ness. It's only a tiny scratch," Young Link said irritably, unlacing his boots and taking off his coat. He was annoyed for a brief moment that Ness was fawning all over Nana.

"I wouldn't say it was a 'tiny scratch' but it definitely isn't something to send to the ER either," Mrs. Glace said, carrying a basket of herbs and dried flowers in one hand, while carrying a leather black bag in the other. "I'll just have to dress it up. I'm sure it'll be movable in two days time. Ness put these in Nana's bedroom, will you? Lola will be sharing with her, and I need to get some ointment for Nana."

Ness shot to his feet eagerly, and relieved Mrs. Glace of her burden. Once more she exited to the kitchen leaving Nana and Young Link alone.

A tight silence filled the room. As much as she wanted to, Nana couldn't break the silence. What would she say to Young Link now? She felt that she could not be mean to him anymore, but being nice to him… That was simply out of the question. Or was it really?

The image of him underneath her in Lola's wrecked house filled her mind once more. The things she felt… What were they?

And where exactly did they leave her?

**X.X.X**

**End of chapter 10.**

**Whoo boy! Next chapter coming probably at the end of July… And with this chapter, I take leave from my beloved laptop for a month.**

**Alright, please review. I mean, seriously, the only way I know if my hard work paid off is if you review. I'm trying not to be a bitch about it, but I really would like it if you reviewed. It's frustrating when I see more than half of the people that favorite it review (and even then, even people who don't favorite it review!). It makes my day when I get a review—and yes I know that sounded really dumb, but it's true.**


	12. Chicken Soup Memories

**Wow… I can't believe it. I'm… Updating?!**

**Yes indeed. I'm updating. I barely had anytime for myself, what with all the homework that just gets stockpiled, and other things besides regarding my personal life you guys probably don't care about. Anyway, this isn't blogspot or anything… You'd need to click on my homepage to see that.**

**Well… without further ado, I hope you guys don't hate me for updating sooo late! I know I promised in July, but… let's say. Stuff happened. And yeah. So please don't kill me. I love you.**

**X.X.X**

"…Really? Oh my goodness, Kuma! That's _so_ sweet of him!" Lola squealed through the phone. Her eyes widened in excitement. "Uh huh… Uh huh… Really?!"

Nana looked up from her magazine and stared at Lola irritably. After only a day, she was already getting sick of Lola! This had to be a new record.

"Yeah! I wish I had somebody as sweet… But if it was me, I'd be telling everybody!"

_And _that_ is the reason why I sometimes prefer Kumatora over Lola…_ Nana found herself thinking as she absentmindedly stared at the latest ad advertising Wiimote gloves.

"Aw… You suck, big time! Oh my gosh! But you have to tell me later, girl! When I get back from Ice Land we're gonna catch up, mkay?" Lola laughed. "Yeah, I know what Iceland is, I got an A+ in Earth Studies remember? Yeah… Uh huh. Okay. Ciao!"

Lola snapped her cell phone shut. "Wow, wish I had a boyfriend like Kumatora!"

_What's wrong with your present boyfriend…? He seems perfectly fine to me…_

The minute that thought escaped through her head Nana felt sick. _Ugh… I bet that was Mewtwo messing with my mind. I'll pretend like I never heard it…_

"Lucas isn't her boyfriend. He's just taking her to the Ball," Nana reminded Lola, trying to clear her thoughts. She shifted her position on the floor, crossing her left leg over her outstretched right one.

"Oh puh-leaase!" Lola scoffed, "they are so into each other that I think I'll die if they don't confess their love any sooner. I was on the phone with Kuma and she told me that Duster said…"

_Duster always lies…_

"Duster? That lying prat?!" somebody asked from the doorway.

Nana looked up in surprise at the person who voiced her thoughts. Ness stood at the doorway, his thumbs hooked casually in his jeans pockets. Nana vaguely recalled Ness and Duster disliking each other, though none of them actually voiced it aloud.

"He's not a liar!" Lola protested.

"Is too," Ness said, a sheepish grin tugging at his lips at his immature retort. Ness never indulged in anything that he deemed 'immature'. And if he was ever caught doing it, he always grinned to cover himself up. It never worked though. "Lying cheat, he is. Beat me at Slaps the other day."

"Just because he beat you at Slaps doesn't mean he cheated," Nana said.

_Though he _does_ cheat…_

Ness looked at Nana with his eyebrows raised. "If you think he cheats, why are you defending him?!"

"What?" Nana asked in confusion. For a moment she didn't understand. Suddenly it dawned on her, and she felt annoyed and embarrassed at the same time. What if he'd read her thoughts earlier? That would have been horrible. "You didn't… read my thoughts, did you?"

Ness blushed. "It slipped," he found himself admitting.

"Slipped?" Nana repeated, a dangerous gleam in her eye. "And I'm supposed to believe it 'slipped' because you don't have complete control over your powers?"

"Er… Yeah," Ness stammered.

Nana stared at him for a few seconds, now thoroughly annoyed. She gripped her now coiled up magazine in her fist and glared at him. "Isn't it taboo to read somebody's thoughts?"

"Well… In normal cases… But, I… I wasn't…"

"I'll take that as a yes then…" Nana said, suddenly on her feet, and inching closer to Ness, "Can you tell me what I'm thinking now?"

_GET OUT OF MY HEAD!_

WHAP!

Ness felt a stinging blow to his cheek as the rolled up-magazine came in contact. "Oww! What was that for?!"

"For… reading… my… personal… innermost… thoughts!" Nana said, swinging at him with them magazine.

"Stop!" shouted Lola, "Stop! Stop! Stop fighting in my room!" She came in between them and held them apart with her hands.

"Your room?" panted Nana. But she lowered her hands. "This is my room thank you very much," she spat.

"Nana, why don't you try acting like a woman for once," sniffed Lola, as she looked at the disheveled girl dismissively.

"Yeah," seconded Ness who seemed relieved Lola was taking his side.

"And you!" Lola shrieked, rounding on him. "Stop acting immature! It's unlawful and very juvenile to read from somebody's head. How dare you trespass an innocent civilian's brain?"

"Innocent?" laughed Ness bitterly, "She's innocent? What rules do _you_ go by, huh, little Miss Lawyer?"

"Yeah, can you even spell juvenile?" Nana wondered aloud, as she backed away from Lola in case Lola decided to become violent on her.

"Probably not," snorted Ness.

"What?! How dare you!" Lola snarled.

"Hey, Lola, it's very unladylike to put that face on," Nana said sweetly, as she tied her hair back in a neat bun.

"Yeah, try learning something from Nana, why don't you?" Ness responded, laughing. "Look how well-groomed she is."

They both knew that Lola hated to be compared to Nana in terms of being lady-like. It was the ultimate low in Lola's book.

"You're just trying to annoy me, aren't you?" Lola asked, her face turning bright red. "Well it's not working."

"Au contraire, madam," Ness said in a mock polite tone, "I think it is."

"Stop ganging up on me! You guys are so mean!" Lola wailed.

"Hey! You guys didn't tell me you were playing Annoying Lola!" Popo exclaimed entering the room.

"Popo! Stop them!" Lola begged.

"Stop them from what? What they aren't breaking any rules," Popo responded nonchalantly, giving her a playful grin.

"Yeah, Lol. You know we love you too much," Nana responded, putting a hand on Lola's shoulder, who immediately shoved it off in revulsion.

"Yeah," Popo responded.

"You guys!" bellowed Mrs. Glace's voice from downstairs. "Lunch is ready! I've been calling you guys since forever, and only Young Link's here. Maybe you could learn from him!"

Nana snorted. Learn from Young Link? Yeah, that would never happen.

She turned to follow Ness and Lola who were exiting the room, trying to call truce.

**X.X.X**

_One Hour Earlier_

Laughter filled the kitchen, as Mrs. Glace started chopping garlic over the sink. "Yes, Nana was a lot of trouble as a baby. That's why you see so few pictures of her smiling. She cried a lot as a child. Rarely smiled, in fact."

"Doesn't cry much anymore," commented Young Link as he stared at the faded photograph of a tiny baby wrapped in a soft pink blanket. The baby was looking at a younger version of Mrs. Glace who was holding her. The baby held her mother's eyes with a watery gaze, on the brink of tears.

"Yes. Nana doesn't cry much anymore. Thinks it's weak," Mrs. Glace replied thoughtfully, as she pushed the cloves of garlic to the side and reached for some carrots.

Young Link flipped the album page and saw another baby being held by Mrs. Glace. This baby was wrapped in a light blue blanket. He held a serene, smiling look on his face. "Popo?" Young Link asked, holding the picture out for Mrs. Glace to see.

"Yeah," Mrs. Glace sighed. "Popo was the easier one from childbirth to now. In fact," she lowered her voice to a whisper and leaned closer to Young Link, "Don't tell Popo or Nana, but Popo was always my favorite. He was obedient and he has heart of gold, he does. Nana was hard to rear, but Popo… He's like water. Easy to flow through your fingers and flexible. Exactly like his father."

Mrs. Glace brandished her cutting knife and pointed to the picture opposite that showed a man who was had the same pleasantness in his face that Popo had. But it wasn't the same exact expression that startled Young Link. It was the scarred face that Mr. Glace had. The gentle expression did little to make the scars seem pleasant. There were two twin scars that ran down his cheeks, from his cheekbones to his chin.

"What happened?" Young Link dared to ask.

Mrs. Glace sighed sadly. "Their father was a good man. He just… Mixed in with the wrong people before he met me. He failed to do a job properly, and they gave him those scars. Then after we got married it was a sort of… happily ever after when we moved up here in total isolation. We came up here to hide, because breaking away from gangs is sticky business." She gave a short laugh.

"Where is he now?" Popo asked.

"Dead. Buried by an avalanche. Same with Lola's father. Died together in fact," Mrs. Glace said brusquely. She turned her back to Young Link and measured out a pinch of salt.

"Oh," Young Link managed to muster. He stared down at the gentle man. Young Link had never known his own parents before. Instead, a tree had raised him like his own parent. And he knew what a terrible loss it was to lose somebody who acted like a parent. He still felt a twang of pain every time he thought about the former Deku Tree and how cold it looked, when its life was drained from it.

"They were only six at the time," Mrs. Glace said, stirring the garlic in the broth. It simmered softly, and steam rose out, curling into the air and eventually dissolving into the cold.

"They knew him well?" Young Link asked, looking up at Mrs. Glace.

"Nana did. They shared a bond. For me, it was Popo. I think their father liked Nana the best. She is a lively girl. And he liked that in people," Mrs. Glace said, as the pot hissed. A delicious, warm aroma wafted into Young Link's nose and he found himself suddenly hungry.

He turned the page and saw a young Nana of about five years. She had messy brown hair that fell into her face, and her cheeks were red from the cold. She was unsuccessfully tying on skates and laughing at the girl next to her…

_Lola…_ Young Link realized with a jolt. Lola looked better than Nana. Her shiny hair was tied up neatly and it looked like she knew how to put on her laces. As he studied Lola's face, he wondered if she had always been so composed and always on about her looks. Had she always been so superficial?

_That's a harsh way of putting it… But it's true._

"Oooh… Lola was such a cute girl even then!" Mrs. Glace said, as she looked over Young Link's shoulder. She had a ladle in her hand.

"Yeah," Young Link said uncomfortably. Did Mrs. Glace know that Young Link and Lola were going out?

"She always was the better mannered one with Nana. But I think Nana had more color to her," Mrs. Glace said. She paused before giving a short laugh, "But maybe it's because I'm biased when it comes to my kids."

Young Link laughed along with her, trying to expel the growing discomfort when it came to the subject of Lola.

"Lola was the peacemaker though, when Popo wasn't there to stop Nana's anger," Mrs. Glace said, now over the stove again.

"Who did Nana get angry at?" Young Link asked. He couldn't stop himself from adding, "I wasn't there, so it couldn't have been me."

Mrs. Glace gave a hearty laugh at what he had just said. "You really think Nana hates you that much?"

"Well… yeah," admitted Young Link, "I give her a reason though… She's always fun to pick on."

Mrs. Glace shook her head and chuckled, "Nana doesn't hate you. You just have to give her a chance to see your true self. I doubt she's seen that part yet."

"I don't plan on letting her see that part," Young Link replied, turning the album page. And it was true. He wished he didn't show his normal side to her. It felt… strange. And not being hostile to Nana put him in a strange situation. He actually found her very pleasant to talk to, once she lowered her guard. But it was the nature of things. He couldn't stop picking on her. That was his way of life! "Whose this?" he demanded suddenly.

For on the left page was a picture of three older versions of the kids. They looked to be around ten. Young Link assumed that Popo must have taken the picture because it was captured crookedly. It showed Lola on the far left of a picnic bench, with one leg crossed over the other, perfectly posed… and looking thoroughly annoyed.

On the other side of the picnic bench was Nana who was laughing and looking admiringly at a boy who was definitely not Popo. This boy had messy black hair and smiling, hazel eyes. It looked like he was telling a rather hilarious story that seemed to annoy Lola.

"Who?" Mrs. Glace asked absent-mindedly, not looking at the picture.

"Him," Young Link said, stabbing his index finger at the strange boy. Never had Young Link seen Nana look so comfortable around a boy.

_They seem to know each other very well… But who is he? If she knew him that well, shouldn't I have heard of him. At least through Popo or Lola? Lola seems to be annoyed by him, but I wonder how Popo feels about him. Nana seems to like him… and I can see why he seems to enjoy her company. Actually, change that thought. I can't!_

"Oh him?" Mrs. Glace asked. She had stared at the picture for a couple seconds before responding.

"Yeah."

"That is-"

"I'm hooome!" a musical voice rang out from the front door.

"Tell you later," Mrs. Glace whispered urgently. "Not now."

Lila appeared at the kitchen, laden with paper brown bags. "Good bargaining today," she announced happily. "Honestly, I wasn't even trying and I got all this stuff."

"Probably flirting with the storekeepers," muttered Mrs. Glace, as she added raw corn to the mixture. She stirred the mixture with the ladle slowly, almost thoughtfully.

"What?! You know I'd never!" Lila exclaimed indignantly. But her cheeks turned red. To distract herself, she asked, "What's that you got there, Young Link?"

Young Link looked at Mrs. Glace who shook her head slightly.

"Oh nothing much," he said, slamming the album book shut. He smiled as convincing as possible and placed the album on a random shelf, where an assortment of cookbooks and medicine books were placed. "Just looking at some of Mrs. Glace's herb… herbology books."

"Botany," corrected Mrs. Glace, with a pained look on her face.

"Yeah… that…" Young Link responded hesitantly.

"Oh yes, Nina's always had a sort of thing with plants," Lila said dismissively. She noticed Mrs. Glace's cheeks redden in fury, and continued, "A bit silly, I know, but her herbs drive me crazy!"

"Oh really?" Mrs. Glace responded with an icy tone that did not match her usual demeanor. In that moment, Young Link could not help noticing how much Mrs. Glace and Nana were alike. They both looked like a warm, friendly dog, the next moment a snarling vixen. "Do they really, Lila? Want me to stop growing those herbs?"

"Well, it would do some good if you didn't have to go crazy over them," Lila responded, sniffing a can of sardines and then, grimacing at the smell, threw it into the trash. She reached for a jar of peanut butter and opened it.

"Oh yes? Well… I never really told you Lila, but your singing sucks. So does your dancing. And oh, while we're at the subject, I think you should lose some pounds."

Young Link waited for Lila's rage but it didn't come. Instead she laughed and said, "Nina, you take things so seriously! I was kidding around." Lila chuckled to herself, as she placed a spoonful of peanut butter into her mouth.

"Hey, Nina?"

"Yeah?" Mrs. Glace asked nonchalantly, as if their little spat had never taken place.

"Am I fat?"

"If you're fat, I'd be dying of obesity," Mrs. Glace responded, drawing out a spoonful of soup. She placed her finger in it, and brought it up to her lips, and sucked on it thoughtfully. "Needs some more salt," Young Link heard her mutter, as she reached for the can of salt.

Lila seemed satisfied with the answer, and took a diced carrot and popped it into her mouth. Still chewing, she headed toward the fridge and took out a head of lettuce.

"Where do you get all that stuff from?" Young Link asked.

"The fridge?" Lila shrugged, looking confused.

"He means where do we get it before the fridge, Lila," Mrs. Glace corrected, in a gentle voice, with the impression that Lila was a little slow on the uptake. She turned to Young Link and answered, "At the foot of the mountain is a bazaar, where they sell practically all our needs."

"So you climb all the way down there? That's a long journey," Young Link commented.

"Yeah, it's easier going down though. If you've been living here for a long while, it's not so hard climbing. It only takes a couple hours going up with supplies," Mrs. Glace explained. She handed him a set of dishes and said, "Set the table, will you dear?" then turning to the stove she turned it off, and opened the lid of the pot.

The aroma in the kitchen made Young Link close his eyes for a moment, before setting the table. It was delicious. He could smell the chicken in the hot liquid laden with spices.

"Nana! Popo!"

There was no response.

Mrs. Glace grumbled to herself as she dipped a spoon into the soup and lifted it up. Young Link saw her tongue briefly come in contact. She flinched and complained, "My tongue is burned!"

"Serves you right for trying it out _right_ after you turned off the stove," giggled Lila, mixing the salad. "Is it good?"

"I just burned my tongue, Lila, and all you can ask is if it's good? It's all right I guess. Nothing too special, nothing too nasty. I hope…"

"It smells good to me," Young Link said, breathing deeply. The smell was making him feel warm and drowsy.

"Thank you, you're just being nice," Mrs. Glace said. But Young Link saw her cheeks turn pink at the compliment.

"Where are those kids?! I thought I called them!" Mrs. Glace said, irritably. She walked out of the kitchen towards the stairs.

"You guys! Lunch is ready! I've been calling you guys since forever, and only Young Link's here. Maybe you could learn from him!" Mrs. Glace shouted up the stairs.

Mrs. Glace smirked when she came back in. "Sorry to make you sound like a momma's boy."

"You're ruining his reputation, Nina!" Lila grinned, as she placed the spoons in their appropriate places, "The boy obviously is popular at school."

Young Link flushed in embarrassment. "Not really," he muttered.

Lila popped a freshly sliced cucumber in her mouth despite Mrs. Glace's furious scowl and said, "Lola told me all about you. You really are popular among friends. Why, Lola told me you're a common subject when it comes to girls."

Young Link, who was already red, turned to a deeper shade. His face was now a nasty maroon color. This prompted a giggle from Lila.

_I wonder who exactly talks about me? I can already rule out Nana…_

"Stop scaring the boy," Mrs. Glace said, swiping the salad bowl away from Lila. She firmly set it on the table away from Lila's reach.

"It's true though!" Lila winked cheerily, obviously enjoying the Hylian's discomfort. Young Link could not help thinking how much Lola and Lila were also alike. He could recall Lola always enjoying making others squirm claiming it was, "cute". "Don't be embarrassed! Be proud! All the boys at our school used to be all over me. Got most of my homework finished that way," Lila added the last sentence as an after thought.

"What about Mrs. Glace?" Young Link asked, relieved the subject was away from him.

"Oh Nina? Nina was always disapproving what I did," Lila laughed. "I don't think Nina ever dated anybody except the dude she ended up marrying. I think she was jealous."

"I was not!" Mrs. Glace objected, her cheeks pink. "Unlike you, I had more ideals than just dating! I earned my grades, earned my friends, and I'd rather date one person and end up marrying him, than you trying dozens of times before finally getting it right! Anyway," Mrs. Glace added, in a tone more softer, "Popo was the most handsome of the lot."

"Until he got those scars," Lila said, rolling her eyes.

"Popo?" Young Link inquired.

"Ah, yes. Popo and his father shared the same name. It's tradition actually. Boys always take their names after their father. And girls, when they get old enough, get to choose their own names, rather than their parents choosing it for them!"

"Really?" Young Link asked.

"Yes. In my times, Nina was a woman who lived in our village. I think I was even closer to her than my own mother. She was my role model. She died though, when I turned six, when she ended up accidentally poisoning herself. She was a botanist… so that explains why she had poison at her house in the first place.

"Anyway when I turned seven, I chose my name to be Nina." Mrs. Glace explained.

"That's quite a story," Lila interjected sarcastically, "If only I didn't hear it so many times."

"Why did you choose your name?" Young Link asked Lila.

"Lilacs are my favorite flower!" gushed Lila. "And you know where the rest comes in. I think Lila's a lovely name."

"So you say…"

"What about Lola and Nana?" Young Link questioned.

"Lola Douglass used to be a famous actress on TV. You can guess the rest," Lila chuckled.

"Nana was a bit stupid choosing her name," Nina said, laughing. "When Popo and I went on our second honeymoon, we assigned a babysitter for the week. Her name was Gigi, but Popo and Nana referred to her as Nana. I suppose Nana really wanted to be a babysitter as her career choice, because when we came back, Nana was begging to be called just that. No matter how hard we tried persuading her to change her mind, she insisted. And well… that's her name now!"

Young Link laughed. _I could blackmail her with this stuff!_

But he found that thought not as amusing as he normally would have. Instead he found it kind of interesting and…

_Don't say it._

"What's whose name now?" Lola asked coming into the kitchen, and sliding into the seat next to Young Link. Immediately, he stiffened. She was uncomfortably close to him.

"We were talking about how you girls got your names," Mrs. Glace responded, still laughing slightly over the story.

"Oh yeah…" Lola said. "What do you think of my name, Link?

"It suits you, I guess," Young Link muttered. He couldn't meet her eyes and instead picked up a spoon and examined his distorted reflection in it.

Lola didn't say anything. But he could tell she was puzzled by his uncomfortable behavior.

He felt her hand, cold in the winter air, slip into his, begging for warmth and affection. Reluctantly he let her hand interlock with his, though he made no effort to grab hers. He didn't want to lead her on, but at the same time, he didn't want to hurt her feelings. Lola certainly deserved better than being led on. After all, Young Link was the one who'd initially gotten himself into this mess.

"Something smells good," announced Ness, entering with Popo and Nana.

"Chicken soup is good for your soul," Young Link joked. He tried not to acknowledge Nana's presence in the room. He wanted things to be back the way they were used to. He wanted to act naturally to Nana, but what was natural? If he looked at her for too long or too little, she would think something was up.

And nothing was up. It was just because of yesterday. And Nana just had to act clumsy and fall on him. And it wasn't his fault, not at all. If anything, the fault was hers for making him feel this uncomfortable!

"That was lame, man," Popo said in response to Ness's comment and sliding opposite of Lola on the bench. Ness followed suit, and Nana sat next to him. Young Link noticed that she hadn't said a word upon entering the room.

Scarcely after the last person sat down the phone rang.

Mrs. Glace and Lila groaned. Lila, who sat on the far end of the table picked herself up, and exited the room with a hurried, "Sorry about that."

While they waited Young Link looked at Mrs. Glace and tried making eye contact with her. The boy in the photograph was still fresh on his mind. But Mrs. Glace shook her head slightly and stared away.

"Lola! It's Aunt Pipa! She says she wants to talk to you!" Lila exclaimed in a shrill voice.

Lola whined, "Aww man! Do I have to?"

Young Link was relieved when her hand let go of his. He wasn't even this uncomfortable with Nana yesterday, when they held hands. After all, it was for a purpose.

He wasn't even that uncomfortable with Lola, when he carried her all the way back to the house. Albeit, she was heavy, and physically he was uncomfortable. But mentally, he wouldn't have cared. Now though, he did.

He felt her leave his side, and felt strained feeling within him lift suddenly.

"So who was he?" Young Link asked Mrs. Glace.

"Who was who?" Nana asked curiously, as she helped herself to some salad.

"Oh, Young Link was looking through some old albums, and saw someone in one of them," Mrs. Glace said reluctantly.

"Who?" Nana persisted.

"Lyle."

_Clang!_

The spoon banged against the porcelain bowl when Nana dropped it. Young Link, who was looking at Mrs. Glace's evasive face, was startled and turned to Nana. He was startled to find her brown eyes, usually full of anger and spirit when they met his, now full of shock and confusion.

"How does he know?" she demanded, her face, still showing signs of shock. Her voice rang out, into his ears. But Young Link noticed the familiar signs of anger starting to take place on her face, as she studied him with such intensity, he suddenly felt the need to defend and run at the same time.

"Who is Lyle?" Ness questioned cautiously. Young Link could tell Ness did not want to anger Nana further.

Popo sighed heavily, meeting his mother's eyes. He shook his head slightly at her, as though disappointed.

There was a very pregnant, strained silence. Young Link wanted answers, and knew he would probably get them if it weren't for Nana. And why shouldn't he know who this person was? Young Link couldn't help feeling angry at her. She always wanted to keep him in the dark. She probably didn't even have the right to keep her mother quiet and yet here she was, doing just that.

He met Nana's eyes, challenging her. He noticed that she was completely infuriated, and he found himself not caring. He had the right to know who this person was! He met her eyes, coolly. Water _did _put out fire after all.

"But I _hate_ talking to Aunt Pipa, mum! She dotes too much! And she recaps every single match I have! It's annoying!"

"She _loves_ you, Lola. You're her only niece!"

Young Link heard Lola grumble something inaudible under her breath.

It wasn't until she heard Lola, that Nana averted her eyes from Young Link quickly. She looked down at her lap, her eyebrows still furrowed. Young Link felt satisfaction sweep over him.

He'd won _this_ battle.

**X.X.X**

**Blah. I think I seriously sucked on this chapter. It's basically a filler I think. Ughh… Whatever. I updated, and that's all that matters, mkay?**

**So review and do your homework.**


	13. Confrontations

**Disclaimer: The author doesn't own Nintendo, Super Smash Bros. and anything else pertaining to that sort of stuff… YAY!**

**X.X.X**

"May I please be excused?" Nana asked, as she stared fixedly at her empty soup bowl. She had remained quiet throughout the whole duration of the meal, eating as fast as she could. Memories… It was the memories that were clouding her head.

They were suffocating her, drowning her, so that the only way she could find solace was to go to another room and escape this one where Popo was wisely silent, her mother was sympathetic yet unapologetic, and especially… especially the intruder. Young Link. She could practically feel his curiosity swirling, mixing within the warm broth-soupy smell that surrounded the whole table. She could feel his eyes on her bowed head, interrogating, demanding, and dominating. She felt a hot surge of anger at first, then wearily let it drop.

"Done already?" Lila inquired. She clicked her tongue impatiently and mumbled something like, "Inedible food where these kids go, honestly," before she finally gave her consent.

She _had_ to get out. She needed to. It took all the effort she could muster, to walk calmly up with her bowl and spoon, walk to the kitchen, wash it, and finally, _finally_ dash up the noisy, cranky steps.

She didn't cry. She couldn't. Because if she did…

_Big girls don't cry, Nana. Are you a big girl?_

_Yes._

_Good girl. You're the strongest person I know._

But how could he have known? Through Lola? It seemed unlikely. Lola would never tell. And Lila… _That_ was even more unlikely.

She opened up her door, shut it and walked over to her bed. Her worn out bed, with the worn out sheets, and soft, downy pillows that adorned it. She grabbed one, pinched it and then buried her face in it.

Then she screamed as loud as she could. Nobody could hear it, yet if a person saw Nana, they would be able to see the tendons in her neck working, trying not to snap, and release the flow of blood that ran through them. They would be able to see her red, red face. What they wouldn't be able to see however, were the tears. Because Nana was not crying.

_I am?_

_Yeah! Any other normal girl would be crying to their mommy by now._

_Wait… Does that mean I'm not normal?!_

_No Nana. You're not normal. _

_But…_

_You're special._

She stopped screaming when she ran out of breath. When she lifted her head off the pillow, she could see a ring of saliva on her pillow where her mouth had been forced. It didn't matter. She was drained of energy. She couldn't get mad anymore. She was calm.

She slid off the bed smoothly, landing on the floor without the faintest sound.

She crossed the floor space and opened the door, almost bumping into Lola.

"Nana!" she exclaimed, surprised. "You should watch where you're going, really."

"Sorry about that," Nana replied, just as surprised at the sudden appearance.

Silence came between them, filling in as much space as possible.

"Why did you leave so fast?" Lola asked, searching for a subject. "You looked like you got in trouble with the Mafia or something," she chuckled at what she'd just said.

"Oh. It was nothing," Nana replied, puzzled at what the word "mafia" meant. She couldn't bring this subject up with Lola.

"It _was_ something," insisted Lola.

"I… Just wanted to get away from Link," Nana said. It _was_ sort of true. She did.

"Oh come on Nana! You'll have to get used to him sometime. He's in your house. Get used to it."

"Yeah… I should, shouldn't I?" Nana murmured.

"Yes. It's getting pretty ridiculous. You two act like children. And seeing as both of you are important people in my life, it tears me apart to see you fighting like…" she searched for a word.

Nana rolled her eyes and cut in, "I'm _flattered_ that I'm important to your life, Lola, but if that insecure brat that you call your boyfriend actually treated me like a human, maybe I'd actually talk to him like a normal person."

"Well, you haven't been exactly treating him like a human, Nana! Both of you are so immature. You say he's bad, he says you're just a whiny little git-"

"What?! He says I'm a whiny little git?! I'll show that little…!"

"This is exactly what I'm talking about!" Lola interrupted in an exasperated tone, "You are always at each other's throats! It's getting really tiresome, not to mention annoying!"

"I can't help it!"

"Well, neither can he. Here," Lola said, suddenly grabbing Nana's hand and tugging her along.

"What are you doing?" Nana asked fearfully, as she was dragged along the hallway.

"Taking you captive."

"Isn't that unladylike?" Nana sarcastically asked. She didn't expect to receive answer.

"Oh shut up," Lola muttered irritably.

"Wow. Being rude as well? Now I think you're just a gangster…" Nana huffed, as she was dragged along downstairs and to the common room.

Ness and Young Link were sitting down, watching TV. A sick sensation flooded Nana as she stared at him. She wanted to rip his head off, and jam it on a spear and make crows eat his flesh…

And yet, at the same time she was jealous of Lola.

"You!" Lola snarled, stabbing her finger toward Young Link. His eyes crawled over to her and finally over to Nana's face.

Nana couldn't help throwing a puzzled look at him as if she didn't know what this was about. She almost felt her cheeks redden because of the way he was scrutinizing her. But before the color actually rushed to her cheeks, his eyes swiveled back to Lola.

"What did I do?" Young Link questioned, suddenly wary.

"Come with me!" Lola exclaimed in a rather furious tone.

"Come back alive, dude," Ness whispered quietly, trying not to laugh. "I still need that rematch for Mario Kart."

Young Link made a face, and got up heavily. Lola grabbed him by the shirt, and stomped out.

"What did you say to her?" Young Link mouthed to Nana, making frantic gestures to help her read his lips.

She shook her head, enthralled and annoyed that he was talking to her in this manner.

Young Link, unsatisfied with her answer nudged Nana to give a different answer. She shot him a glare and hissed under her breath, "What makes you think we're on speaking terms? This is all you're fault!"

Young Link became confused. However before he could slap back an answer, Lola opened the door, to the laundry room and shoved them both inside, slamming the door behind her, as she stepped in.

"You guys are _always_ fighting, and it's driving me insane. Call a truce. Now."

Nana watched the realization hit Young Link. HE smirked at Nana unpleasantly and said, "_Fighting?_ It's not me that fights, Lola. It's _her._ I saved her so many times while we were at your house, and I didn't hear one little thank you. Of course though, I let it pass."

"Oh yeah? You're forgetting all the times _I_ saved _you_! If you'd gone all alone, you would have died!" Nana seethed.

"Stop it you two!" commanded Lola. "Always fighting! Young Link, you are my boyfriend…"

Nana thought she saw Young Link stiffen at that. Again. She wondered why he felt so uncomfortable around that word. Was he already having doubts about Lola? Or was it just a figment of her imagination?

"…And Nana, you are my best friend. I can't continue to be both your friends while you two keep fighting."

"Oh yeah, Lola?" Nana asked, rounding on her, "I wonder… Who was it that helped Link prank me?" the memory still stung her.

It also seemed to sting Lola as well because the feminine Ice Climber's cheeks reddened in embarrassment, and she looked at her feet.

"_I_ made Lola do it. She's not responsible for what she did," Young Link said, seeing Lola's embarrassment. He glared at Nana.

"Oh yeah? Actually, I think she is very much responsible for what she did. You just asked her to."

"What? So you aren't holding me responsible for what I did?" Young Link asked, amused.

Nana shot back, "I never said that. I was just pointing out the fact that you and I aren't the only ones at fault."

"Maybe all you three should call a truce…" came a calm, quiet voice from the doorway.

The three had not noticed Popo enter, but apparently, their raised voices must have piqued his curiosity enough to open the door.

"And maybe you should butt out of our business, Popo," Nana snarled.

Popo didn't say anything; he was too used to his younger sister's uncontrollable anger. It was better if you waited out the anger. If you fought back, it would only fuel the rage.

"Shut up, Glace," Young Link sneered; though nobody in the room knew which Glace he was referring to.

Popo put a hand on Nana's shoulder, and the effect of the gesture seemed to calm her down.

"Sorry," she muttered to Popo.

"It's alright," Popo said indifferently. "Now why don't you all three call a truce. I take it; Lola and Nana have never resolved each other's problem."

Nana gritted her teeth. It wasn't easy to call truce with somebody who embarrassed you in public. Especially if she was your best friend.

Popo sensed Nana's anger and said quickly, "You guys are basically even. I mean, Lola practically killed Nana's reputation at school, and you Nana, you nearly killed Lola in general. I think that should even it out."

Nana winced; she hadn't meant to kill Lola on purpose. If anything, it had been a bad mistake.

"I'm sorry, Nana," Lola muttered.

Nana looked up in surprise. She hadn't expected Lola to apologize so quickly and easily. But there were some things she missed about Lola. They were so different, yet Lola read Nana like a fashion magazine. Lola knew when something was wrong, knew when something was right, knew a lot of things about Nana that Nana herself didn't know. Lola knew more than she let on.

"I'm sorry, too," Nana murmured. Awkwardly, they hugged.

Popo and Young Link groaned.

"What?" demanded Lola.

"This is _so_ cheesy," Young Link said, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms. He looked away from them, as if he couldn't bear the sight of it anymore.

"Shut up! Girls are allowed to get as cheesy as they want!" Lola exclaimed, hitting him on the shoulder playfully.

"Whatever, I'm out," Young Link yawned, heading for the door.

"No you aren't," Popo commanded. He seized Young Link by the sleeve and yanked the elf away from the door. "You still have to call truce to Nana."

"Aw! Why should I?!"

"Just do it. You've made Nana's life horrible, and since you've seen Nana angry mostly, that's probably the reason why you see her as disagreeable," reasoned Popo. "Now apologize."

Young Link looked down at Nana, who coolly stared back. He looked at her, as if assessing the situation with much thought and care.

"I will apologize, if she goes first," he announced, finally. He tore his eyes away from her.

"Ugh… Okay," Nana said, rolling her eyes. _What a baby…_

"Young Link, I apologize for acting so _disagreeable_ towards you." The words rolled off her tongue heavily. She hated admitting defeat first. She forced a smile on her face, working her jaws and muscles furiously to create one. The effect must have been disastrous because Young Link, Lola, and Popo all winced at her face. She finished with a falsely sweet voice, "I hope we can still be the best of friends, and take pleasure in each other's company."

Young Link stared at her, blinking. He couldn't believe she had done it; he hadn't expected her to, but here she was, sugary sweet words rolling off her tongue like honey. Who would have thought it possible?

Lola and Popo were looking expectantly at Young Link. He swallowed.

"Uh ditto, except less cheesy," he said. Popo snickered.

Nana resisted rolling her eyes at him. He could be such a showoff even now!

"Well… now that _that_ is over with," Popo said, after a moment's silence, "I think we should all get out of this dark pantry. I don't think it's a good hangout for more than three people."

Lola murmured in agreement, and they all exited the room.

"Wait! Young Link!" Nana called.

"What?" Young Link asked, turning around.

"I need to talk to you," Nana responded.

"About?" Young Link questioned, skeptically.

"Our… erm," she smirked at him, painfully. "New found friendship."

"Uh… Okay," Young Link said, surprised. He was curious as to what it could be.

Nana crossed him, and shut the pantry door, behind him. Semi-darkness engulfed the room. Because of this, Young Link could not read her face. But he saw her glittering brown eyes study him. He waited for her to speak, but she didn't.

Finally he blurted, "Is there something you wanted to discuss?"

"Oh yes. There is," Nana said. Her voice was oddly friendly. A little _too_ friendly.

"Okay… What is it?"

From the darkness, he could only make out her eyes narrowing. Warning bells rang in his head, but he ignored them.

"So… Link. I think you have a strange sense of humor. Can you see why?" she asked, in a falsely thoughtful voice.

Young Link was completely bewildered. He hadn't played a trick on her in quite some time.

"Yes. But… Aren't we past my jokes?" Young Link asked, with an eyebrow raised. He tried feigning confidence, but really he was wary. Nana sometimes could get very volatile when she got ticked off. He had been her Sandbag for awhile.

"Oh of course," Nana giggled girlishly, reminding him forcibly (and horribly) of Lola. "We're past that. But there are other things," her voice turned cold and flat at the last sentence.

"Like what?"

And suddenly he felt the breath get knocked out of him as he felt Nana's weight collided against him with as much force as Nana could muster. She had pinned him to the wall, panting heavily, from her effort.

"What the…?!" he yelled in astonishment and anger.

She stared up at him, holding him down, by placing her forearm against his chest, and holding his shoulder with her other hand. "Yeah, scared now, aren't you?" she hissed.

"Yeah, well, I bet you would be too, if I suddenly sprang up on you!" he said. He hoped she couldn't feel his heart beating fast.

"Oh ha ha, Link. You give yourself _too_ much credit. I, scared of you?" Nana forced a laugh, to prove her point.

"When I said 'friendship' Nana, I meant friendship. Not you trying to coerce me into more than that," Young Link snickered, ignoring her question. He was trying to regain some of his dignity back. "I guess you couldn't contain your feelings, Nan. I hope you know that I'm dat-"

"Shut up!" she spat. "You think you're so great, that girls can't resist your charm? Well here's _one_ standing right in front of you, who can."

"Then why are you so close to me?" Young Link asked effortlessly. She was almost too easy.

"Making you scared. Which you are," she added the last sentence with a little uncertainty.

"Am I?" he dryly asked. "Well Glace. Tell me, why have you forced me to endure your _pleasurable_ company?" he said, putting emphasis on "pleasurable".

"One thing, really," Nana responded, ignoring his insult.

"Oh yes? What's that?" Young Link asked, still trying to control his racing heart.

It didn't help when Nana leaned closer right up to his face and hissed, "Butt out of my personal life."

"Your personal…? Whatever are you talking about?" Young Link asked. He could barely think with her right up close to his face. For God's sake, they were nearly inches apart. Those eyelashes that framed her brown eyes… had they always been this long?

"You asked who was Lyle? That's my private business. Don't you dare nose around."

It took a minute for Young Link to register what Nana was talking about. Lyle? Then he remembered the boy in the photo. The one who made Nana laugh? Yes, that must be him.

"Lyle? That dude? What, was he your ex? Cheated on you? Not surprising," he snorted. Immediately after he had uttered the last sentence he was shocked, and disgusted at himself. Where did those words come from? He had just suddenly said them. He felt even more disgusted, and guilty when he saw and felt Nana slowly loosen her grip on him in shock and hurt. She lowered her hands, and he saw her face redden. For one terrible moment, he thought she was going to cry.

"You're wrong. You don't know anything," she said, and this time, her voice remained the same, though it was a little shaky. "And I prefer we keep it that way. There are some things, you don't need to know," she said.

Young Link felt the familiar coldness of the pantry room rush at him again. He looked at her eyes, which were avoiding his.

"Nana…"

"Don't _ever_ get into my personal life," she warned. Then for effect, she added, "You're the last person I'd ever want knowing about my life."

Before he could reply, she had opened the door and slammed it shut behind her, leaving him in the darkness.

_Am I really?_

_Yes__… You'll always be special._

He felt his hands ball into fists as he stared at the shut door. He hated it when his opponent always had the last say. It annoyed him to no end. His eyebrows furrowed so much; he could see some of his eyebrow hair from his point of view.

And because of the way Nana had slammed the door shut, because of the way she had cornered him, it had only made him more determined to find out what was going on.

**X.X.X**

**End of chapter**** 12.**

**Thank you so much for everybody who reviewed! I think we've hit the 100 review mark! Thanks a lot, and have a Merry Christmas, Eid, Hannukah, or whatever you celebrate in December XD**


	14. Relations

**I'm very sorry for the delay. I had a lot of stuff to do, school related mostly. But anyway, here's the next chapter! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything Nintendo related except for the products they sell. **

**X.X.X**

Young Link was not used to the cold. He was not used to the wind being so cruel against bare skin. He wasn't used to the concept of numb fingers.

Clearly, Popo, Nana and Lola could see that. But instead of waiting for Young Link, they had rushed off, without waiting for him. Ness stayed behind.

"Dude, putting on ice skates are really easy," Ness said, standing in the snow dozens of feet away from the frozen creek. He wobbled slightly on his skates, but regained his balance. "These have already been laced! It's just like tying sneakers!"

"Ugh… Sneakers," Young Link groaned. Young Link hated wearing sneakers. He preferred his boots to sneakers any day. Luckily at school, there wasn't a strict dress code, seeing as how a lot of students had unusual preferences and requirements. Prince Ralis, for example could never stay dry, otherwise he'd pass out. Every hour or so, he would drink ample amounts of water, or douse his clothes with water.

"You know how to tie sneakers right?" Ness asked anxiously.

"Yes," snapped Young Link. "Link showed me how. It's just that my fingers can't feel anything! They're not working properly!"

"They're numb, dude. Chill," Ness said, bending down in front of Young Link. He laughed and said, "Get it? Chill?"

Young Link slapped his forehead with his palm and groaned. He let Ness tie his skates for him.

"Finally!" Ness exclaimed cheerfully, getting up. "It's been awhile, since I last skated. I might fall…"

"At least you know how to skate," grumbled Young Link.

"You don't know how to skate?" gasped Ness. "But… You… You've seen snow before you came here to the Mansion, right?" he asked worriedly.

Young Link rolled his eyes. "Yes, stupid. I've seen snow and ice, when I had to save the Zoras. But that was when I was older. Since I'm not Link's age yet, I can't have known how to skate."

Ness blinked for a while, trying to comprehend what Young Link was trying to say. "Oh… I see what you're trying to say. Stupid time screw-up," he added.

"Yeah." Young Link said, "Exactly." He stood up and took a step, before stumbling over and landing flat on his face.

His face turned red, despite the fact that he was covered in snow. Ness was laughing, and when Young Link lifted his face off the snow, he could see the young PSI boy doubling over in laughter.

"It wasn't that funny," Young Link grumbled, picking himself up from the snow. He nearly fell down again, but caught himself just in time.

"Yeah… But… Man… You really don't know how to ice skate!" Ness said, still chuckling.

"You finally noticed?" muttered Young Link darkly. He wobbled slightly, and then took his first step.

"Imagine how you'll be like on ice," giggled a feminine voice.

Young Link nearly fell over again, turning so quickly to see Lola, her cheeks bright pink from the cold. He saw that she was accompanied by Popo who was also laughing, and Nana who was refusing to meet his eyes. All three of them had halted to a stop on the snow bank

_What's up with her?_ Young Link found himself thinking. _She looks like she'd rather be anywhere but here. What a killjoy…_

"Yeah, you can't even stay straight on the snow!" chirped Popo.

"Shut up!" Young Link said, his cheeks reddening. He expected Nana to say something else to ridicule him, but she was still avoiding his eyes. He noticed her cheeks were also pink, not as rosy as Lola's, but there was still color on her face.

"Alright, we'll stop," Ness chuckled.

"Here, take my arm. I'll teach you how to skate," Lola said, proffering her arm to Young Link.

Reluctantly, he linked his arm through Lola's. He stole a glance at Nana who had finally lifted her eyes off the ground. She was talking to Ness. She seemed like herself. Oddly, Young Link felt disappointed at this.

Together, they walked to the creek. Popo and Nana were the first to reach there. Popo tentatively placed his skate on the frozen floor and announced, "I think it may be hard enough."

But Nana was already on the ice before Popo had given this announcement. Young Link wasn't surprised by how fast she was, but noted that she didn't really look graceful on the ice, the way he'd seen professional ice skaters. She skated like…

…Like a hockey player.

"C'mon take your first step," Lola said, breaking into his thoughts. She was still holding his hand, but she was on the ice, while he was on the snow.

"I… Can't," muttered Young Link refusing to budge. Lola tugged on his hand, trying to make him move.

"Yes you can!" responded Lola, "Anyone can ice skate. It just takes practice!"

"Dude, are you going to stay out on the snow forever?" Ness asked, slowing to a stop at the edge of the ice.

Ness was neither graceful nor fast for that matter. He didn't look like he knew much about skating. _But at least he knows how to do it…_

Reluctantly, Young Link took a step on the ice.

"Finally!" cheered Lola. She waited until Young Link had both his skates inside the ice before saying, "I'm going to drag you across the ice, so you get the feel of it."

"Wait… Lola… No…" Young Link said, weakly. But it was too late. Before he knew it, he was moving.

Lola was a graceful skater. Perhaps she was not as fast as Nana, but she skated gracefully, moving her body forward, her back straight, and her face leaning forward, showing off her neck.

After awhile, Young Link was starting to enjoy being on the ice. "This isn't that bad," he admitted to Lola. Too bad he failed to see Lola's smirk.

"Really? Glad you think so. Now I'm going to let you go. If you want to go faster, just… kind of do what I'm doing. And if you want to stop, bring your skates forward so that they kind of make a stop like this," Lola explained, slowing to a stop by making her skates go inward.

She started skating again, and once she had achieved a slow gentle pace, she let go of Young Link who yelped.

"What do I do?!" Young Link asked, scared.

"Skate!" Nana shouted, zooming by him.

_Show-off! One day, I'll make her climb redwood trees. We'll see how she likes those…_ Young Link thought, gritting his teeth. He placed a skate forward, trying to mime Lola's graceful posture. But he stumbled over and fell over on the ice. It hurt, but Yong Link wasn't about to let anyone know.

"Are you okay?" Lola asked worriedly, effortlessly stopping in front of him. She put her hand out so that he could get up.

Young Link took it, and Lola managed to pull the boy up to his feet without wobbling once.

"You seem to be very good at keeping your balance," Young Link stated. He was being very honest when he said that.

Perhaps that was why Lola blushed and looked down at her feet. Young Link looked away uneasily. He hated what he was doing to Lola, but at the same time, he didn't know how to end it. He'd always liked Lola… Only as a friend. He wished he'd never asked her out. At the time, when he wanted to tarnish Nana's reputation badly, it seemed like a good idea. Now… As Young Link watched Lola's face resume her original color, he knew what he was doing was cruel. He had to stop it, but how? He didn't want to make things ugly. If he ended it, He was scared that things may end up awkward between the two, or otherwise it might end up nasty. He wanted it to be the way before; to tease Lola with Ness, Popo, and Nana. But that was all. He didn't like it when she held his hand. It just… Didn't seem right.

"When I was little, Popo and I used to skate together all the time!" Lola said cheerily, "He was a very good teacher. Always patient with me. I used to be worse than you were right now. But… It's always been my dream to be a professional ice skater."

"Really?" Young Link asked, surprised. A professional ice skater. It seemed to suit Lola, but Young Link would have never guessed. "Then why are you a Smasher?" he asked, frowning.

Lola turned away from him, so that her back was facing him, "I got lonely."

_Lonely?_

"Lonely?"

"Yeah. Nana and Popo were my best friends. A year after they left, I was truly alone up here on the mountain. I wanted to be with people my own age. Not only that, but I also wanted to be famous. I thought, if I joined Super Smash Brothers, it would be easier for me to become recognized as a figure skater. It was a perfect opportunity. Lila was against me going of course. And who could blame her?" Lola murmured the last sentence so quietly that Young Link had to strain his ears to pick it up.

"Why was she against you going?" Young Link dared to ask.

"Because…" Lola slid her feet around and faced him again. Her face, he noted, was paler than usual. It seemed to be drained of its color. Her eyes were on the floor. Young Link held his breath. He could sense that Lola was about to reveal something she shouldn't.

BAM!

Young Link felt himself roughly push into Lola. He felt his body hit her roughly, as both of them collided to the floor, hard. His shoulder stung from hitting the ice so hard. For one brief moment he felt something almost fall on top of him.

"Oh sorry! I totally lost control, and next thing you know, I hit you both. I'm really sorry! Are you both okay?" Nana asked, laughing. There was an edge to her voice that suggested she had known what Lola was about to say. Young Link untangled himself from Lola as quickly as possible.

"Why don't you just get glasses, Glace?" Young Link spat irritably. "Then you'd know where you're going."

Nana opened her mouth, perhaps to retaliate, when she shut it again.

"Yeah… You'd better stay quiet!" Young Link snarled. He was trying to pick himself up.

"Stop it! Stop moving!" Nana yelled. She grabbed Young Link's hand and forced him on his knees.

"What are you doing?" Young Link asked, snatching his hand away from her. He looked around for Ness and Popo. Their eyes were wide open, far away, staring at where Nana and Young Link were.

"Link!" Lola screamed. Young Link turned around, and saw Lola. She had crawled away from the ice and was sitting in the snow.

_What's going on? Why did Lola leave so quickly?_

"Get on your knees and place your hands on the floor. Crawl out of the ice. Now!" ordered Nana. Her voice had fear written all over it.

"Why?" Young Link asked.

"Just do it!"

CRACK!

Nana closed her eyes, as she felt the ice beneath her lose its stability.

Young Link quickly placed his hands on the ice. _This is all Nana's fault! If she hadn't bumped into us, this wouldn't have happened!_

"Go slowly," instructed Nana, trying to sound calm. "Don't move too fast. You'll make it worse."

Young Link slid his hand up. He heard the ice crack again. Nervously he inched his way back to the snow.

"I'm right behind you," soothed Nana. "Just keep going." _Ugh… This is all my fault! If we ever get out of this alive, I swear, I'll let him nose around as much as possible without interfering!_

"Just keep going… You're doing okay…" Nana babbled, comforting herself more than she was Young Link.

CRAAAACK!!

Nana screamed. The ice beneath her was splintering underneath them. She watched in horror as Young Link slipped underneath the ice with a yell.

_Just my luck! As much as I hate that kid, I can't even consider letting him drown. This creek isn't very deep… It shouldn't be hard getting him out…_

Before she could doubt herself, she took a deep breath let herself fall into the water.

The water hurt so badly. It was so cold that she felt like it was fire on her skin. Already her body was numbing up. She opened her eyes, and through a haze, she saw Young Link falling… Falling… Falling to the bottom. The weight of his skates were pulling him down even faster. He seemed to have been knocked unconscious because of the sudden cold.

She kicked her legs furiously. _Please don't be dead… Please don't be dead. Please don't be dead!_

His cap was gone from his head, letting loose a stream of golden hair, clouding his face. Only his mouth was exposed, slightly open.

_Please don't be dead. Please don't be dead. Please don't be dead! _Nana had finally caught up to Young Link. She caught him around the waist and began to swim upward.

But her legs were tired and Young Link was heavier than her. The skates were making it difficult to swim upward. Her lungs ached for air. Her body, no longer screaming for warmth, was numb and clumsy. She almost lost grip on Young Link.

_We're never going to make it up… Never._

Nana desperately tried to go up faster. She kicked as hard as she could, but her legs wanted to rest. Her lungs were starting to feel pressured. They needed air.

_We'll never make it out! Unless…_

Praying that Young Link always carried his weapons, Nana rummaged through his belt. His sword hilt was still there. She finally found what she was looking for.

The hookshot.

Pleased with herself. She took careful aim, prayed that Ness, Popo or Lola or somebody was nearby, and pressed the handle, activating the weapon. She felt the force of the hookshot, as its point broke through the thin layer of ice, five feet above.

Her body felt dead, her brain felt dead. It was too late. She felt herself almost slipping out of consciousness. Her lungs begged her to take a breath. She had to. She didn't care if she died anymore. She needed to breathe.

And suddenly she felt herself being dragged upward. Slow at first, but faster. She was going to die. It was too late. She couldn't wait any longer.

_I'm sorry Link…_

She let out a gasp, fully prepared to meet her Maker. Only she was on the surface. She wasn't dead. She coughed out the water that had gotten into her.

She was alive.

"Nana!" she heard her voice uttered by Popo. His voice sounded relieved, and scared at the same time. She felt his arms wrap around her tight.

So warm… He was so incredibly warm. It was strange… He was on fire. Was he running a fever? She tried to withdraw from his embrace, but he wouldn't let her go.

"I'm… Fine…" she coughed into his chest. Really. She was. She kept taking in the air, gulping lungfuls of it.

She felt him pull her out of the water. She felt her and Young Link get dragged to the snow. She tried to stand, or at least get up. But she couldn't.

"Where… Is Lola?" Nana asked blearily. She had spotted Ness, who had his arms tight around Young Link.

"She went to get help," Popo said. "Are you alright?"

"I'm alive, aren't I?" Nana said, trying to laugh. But her lungs were weak, and they wouldn't let her. "Can you get off of me now? I love you too Popo, but uh…"

"Shut up! I'm sharing my body heat with yours, idiot." Popo said, irritably.

Nana let out a wheeze, which was supposed to be a laugh.

"Is he awake?" Nana rasped. "Link?"

"Yeah, I think so. He's a bit weaker than you though. He's not a winter person, so falling into ice cold water must've really done him in."

"You don't say…" Nana muttered. She glanced at Young Link who was unsuccessfully trying to push himself away from Ness. His blonde hair hung limply over his clear blue eyes. His hair was longer than Nana had ever seen. Wet, it hung just past his shoulders.

Young Link turned his head in her direction, and caught her staring at him. Nana blinked, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks. She averted her gaze.

_I've seen those eyes somewhere in my dreams…_

**X.X.X**

They would live, according to Mrs. Glace. Nothing a hot shower couldn't cure.

It did leave him feeling refreshed, though his nose was a bit drippy. He wandered around the room in warm, flannel pajamas that he'd borrowed from Popo. His hair was still slightly damp from the shower, and he felt like taking a nap, but Mrs. Glace advised against it, saying he wouldn't sleep at night, when he would need it the most.

So he strolled aimlessly on the upper floor, pausing just outside of Nana's room. She was probably still taking a shower, but Lola might be in there. And Lola was about to tell him something that could be important.

So he knocked the door quietly. What if Nana did open the door? If Nana did answer the door… He wouldn't know what to say to her.

Thankfully Lola opened it. She gave him a bear hug that Young Link once again, felt reluctant to receive.

"Come in… How are you feeling?" Lola asked.

"Fine, thanks to that shower. I really needed it…" Young Link responded. He sniffed. "I have a bit of a cold though."

He walked into Nana's room. He could hear the shower on, which meant Nana was showering. He could also hear her singing faintly too. Horribly.

Young Link repressed a grin.

"Aw… That's too bad," Lola cooed. She drew close to him and lightly kissed his lips. "I'm sure it'll get better."

Young Link jerked at the sudden contact.

If Lola hadn't noticed how uncomfortably he was before, she did now. She studied Young Link's face, and with a frown she asked, "Is something wrong?"

Young Link flushed, feeling the guilt again. He changed the subject. "Uh… Well… You were about to tell me something before Nana knocked into us."

Lola looked disappointed. "Yes… I was. I forgot what I was going to say…"

Young Link knew it was a lie. But he didn't press it. He looked down at Nana's floral bedding, and traced the quilt stitches on it. He wondered. Should he ask Lola who Lyle was? Now was his perfect opportunity. Nana was taking a shower, and it didn't seem she would be finishing anytime soon.

He weighed his chances.

"What are you thinking about?" Lola asked, looking at his bowed head.

Young Link lied, "Nothing."

"Terrible liar," Lola said lightly. She was smiling though, which encouraged him.

"I don't know if you want to know what I'm thinking," Young Link said, still idly tracing the patterns. He was baiting her.

"Silly! Of course I do!" Lola said. She put a hand on Young Link's cheek and brought it up so that he could meet her stare. "What are you thinking about?"

Young Link hesitated. _Well… She's insisting. I warned her, so it's not my fault…_

"Lola… Do you… Know who Lyle is?"

Young Link heard her sharp intake of breath, and felt her hand on his cheek grow clammy. She froze for a minute, and then she let go of his face. Her eyes held a look of shock.

"How do you know about him?" she asked in hushed tones, "Why do you want to know?"

Young Link tried to keep his voice calm, and subdued, "I saw him in a picture in one of your old albums. Nana seems to know him very well, but she refuses to talk about him. She seems… sad every time his name comes up. I was just curious…"

Lola quietly said, "You seem to know Nana's intake on Lyle. Why don't you ask her? What else have you talked to her about that I don't know?"

Alarmed, Young Link looked at Lola. Her eyes were seething. "N-nothing. I was hoping I could get the answers from you!"

"Why do you want to know so much? Because it hurts Nana? That's probably the reason isn't it?"

"What? I'm not going to blackmail Nana!" Young Link protested. He wished he hadn't said anything now.

"That's not what I meant!" Lola angrily responded, "Now I know why you've been so uncomfortable around me. You _like_ Nana, don't you?"

"What?! No! I just want-"

"Want to know more of Nana's angst-ridden life?! I have one too, you know! Lyle isn't only her business. He's more my business than hers!"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't talk about things you don't understand, Link," Lola snarled. She got up from the bed and faced away from him. Her voice changed to a calmer yet icier tone, "Do you really want to know who Lyle is?"

"…Yes," Young Link said, his heart beating fast. "But if you don't want to tell me… Then you don't have to."

"You'll know anyway," Lola said, giving a humorless laugh, "When you start going out with _her_."

"I never said-"

"Yes… You didn't," Lola responded in a bored tone. "But you're going to dump me aren't you? I should've known you never liked me. You probably just used me to get back at Nana. To filch her undergarments…"

Young Link squirmed. The way she put it made him feel even guiltier. Was he really that transparent?

"I should've seen that coming. I just wanted a boyfriend so badly… But no matter. About Lyle… Let me start from the beginning.

"In Ice Climber culture, having twins is good luck. Popo and Nana are twins. So their family was blessed with good luck."

Young Link didn't know where Lola was going with this, but he was quiet. He let her continue.

"Unfortunately, my family wasn't blessed with the same luck. But it's also a custom to have two children, in each family. Any more is considered bad luck. Any fewer children meant bad luck, unless of course, the wife cannot bear any more children. But that seldom happened. Icicle Mountain used to be a healthy place full of happy thriving people. Now, everybody's gone…"

Lola gazed out the window at the white, blank scenery. Suddenly she changed tack. She let out an odd laugh. It was half hysterical, half real.

"You know… Popo was more of my friend than Nana was? I enjoyed being in Popo's company a lot more than being in Nana's. Popo always understood me more than Nana. You probably think that Nana was the oddball. She wasn't. She found friendship and quite possibly developed a crush on Lyle, now that I think of it."

Lola took a deep breath, and faced Young Link, her shoulders oddly upright, her eyes shinier than normal. Young Link vaguely acknowledged the shower had shut off, and now there was only the quiet that separated what Lola had to say next.

"Lyle… Was Nana's best friend. He was also…" Lola stopped. Young Link was startled to see tears in her eyes. Her hand crept to her face, and discreetly tried to wipe away the tears.

"Lola…" Young Link started. He was going to tell her to stop. He couldn't bear to see her like this. He pitied her. But before he could even think of what to say, Lola spoke the rest of the sentence.

"…My older brother."

**X.X.X**

**That's the end of this chapter! Could you figure it out in the beginning?**

**Uhh… So please review!**


	15. Her Fault

**A/N Hey guys! Sorry about such a long break! This isn't a long chapter either; it's only about 7 pages. But really, either I had no inclination to write or I was too busy. At one point, I really didn't want to finish this story. However, after talking to Babykoalaprincess, an authoress friend of mine, I decided to give SOMETHING a shot. So here you go! I'm terribly sorry about the shortness especially after so long! D: **

**Disclaimer: Crystalicios doesn't own anything Nintendo related...**

* * *

An odd silence had crept into the room. There was nothing to say to that, yet Young Link could not bear this silence. They stared at each other. Lola's blue eyes no longer were wet; there seemed to be a wall that prevented him from seeing her true feelings. The coldness of this wall seemed to hypnotize Young Link; for some unspeakable reason he felt that if he turned his eyes away, something dreadful would happen.

So he sat. And they stared at each other in the same way, and with each passing, pressing second, the odd silence turned more stiff, and more tension laced. It was like a dam about to break from pressure flowing.

"He was also… My older brother."

Older brother? Young Link could have never guessed; the numbness from the shock of hearing those words told him that. But now that he thought of it, wasn't it obvious? If Popo and Nana were a pair, wouldn't that hold the same of Lola as well? And Lyle… Well Lyle, Lola and Lila… They all sounded the same. So shouldn't Young Link have guessed that they were somehow connected?

The bathroom door burst open, causing Lola and Young Link both to jump. It had been so quiet; the door had surprised them both.

Nana stepped out of the steam, with a completely relaxed face. Young Link stared for a couple seconds and then averted his eyes, embarrassed. She was wrapped in a fluffy white towel, which exposed her shoulders, arms and most of her legs. It was definitely the most skin Young Link had ever seen on Nana, and looking at her like that made her seem… Well more feminine.

In the seconds that he'd gawked at her, he'd taken in her dripping wet hair, usually a light brown, was now a darker shade because of the water. The skin between her neck and shoulder was definitely something he'd never seen. And her legs, which were always mostly covered, he could see that they were toned and strong. But when he looked into her eyes, at the softened, relaxed, and most importantly unguarded expression it was the first time he'd ever realized that Nana could actually pass off for an attractive well… Girl.

This, of course all happened in about a total of five seconds. When Nana realized Young Link was in the room, she flinched, and the relaxed expression vanished replaced by something careful and hard, almost a glare. It took him a couple of seconds to realize that this was the expression he'd always seen on Nana's face when she was looking at him.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded. She then averted her eyes from him and seemed to find the windowsill behind him more interesting. "Oh, what does it matter anyway?" she asked in a defeated tone.

Young Link muttered, "Sorry, I was just leaving..." and made to get up off the bed.

"Don't bother," Lola said icily. She whirled away, and stalked off. Nana watched her face, trying to put two and two together. When the door closed behind her, Nana heaved a sigh through her nostrils. Young Link saw her close her eyes in a sort of understanding.

"Don't tell me you asked her about Lyle," she said. It wasn't a question. She knew that Young Link had already done it.

"Well..." he shifted uncomfortably. Was it that obvious what had happened between him and Lola? "I wasn't getting answers from anyone else. And his name kept coming up everywhere..."

When Young Link looked up at her, he was surprised to see she was looking at him intently. "Link," she said. "If I knew you'd go to Lola... Well, she's the last person, besides Lila, I wish you'd gone to."

After a moment she spoke again. "I guess we're all still hung up on his death. I mean. He died so young... And he was..." she sighed through her nose again, with a reminiscent gleam in her eyes. They looked at nothing, or perhaps a memory was playing out in front of them. "He was wonderful. To everyone," she added, as if Young Link thought otherwise. Privately, he thought that Lyle seemed the most wonderful to Nana. But he didn't say anything. He felt as though he'd intruded too much.

"You probably think we're all pathetic," Nana was facing him now. "You think we can't move on, and it makes us weak." her voice had taken on that broken, defeated tone again. Her eyes though were hard and calculating, judging on how he would respond to this statement.

"I..." Young Link's voice cracked. His throat was dry so he swallowed and tried again. "I don't think you're pathetic. It never even crossed my mind. Really." He added when she raised an eyebrow. It was honest and true.

As much as Young Link hated to admit it, he felt the same way when the elder Deku Tree had withered away. He could not stop the tree from dying, and yet he felt that if he somehow knew, somehow acted more quickly to save his beloved tree, maybe it would still be alive. It was not the same to see the younger Deku Tree smiling brightly there. He missed the elder one with all his heart, and sometimes when he was down or needed advice, he felt the tree's absence cut through him like a butcher knife. The Great Deku Tree no longer was there for him.

Perhaps Nana could tell that Young Link knew how it felt to lose somebody so close because she looked away. The next words that came out of Nana's mouth were low, and it was clear she was fighting for control of her voice. "I wish I didn't have to keep thinking about him. But what can I say? He was my best friend. Its completely my fault he died."

Young Link gave her a strange look. "How do you work that one out?" he asked curiously. He could not help asking.

Nana merely stared at the wall. A long silence drew out between them. Then, a sigh escaped her lips and she started talking.

"Remember when we were in Lola's house? And I told you about how Topis were mutated because of that mad scientist and the leakage?"

Young Link nodded, even though Nana could not see him. He could not speak.

"That mad scientist eventually died, but the leakage had poisoned all of our water. It took some effort, but the remaining Ice Climbers managed to contain it in one body of water. It was a small pond that all the younger kids used to ice skate on because it was really shallow. However, once it was all contained, that place was roped off. For us Ice Climbers, the contaminated water meant a slow painful death. For other specimen though, we weren't so sure. For example, Topis usually are kind fluffy animals. They used to be like, rabbits to us. But after being subjected to the contamination they turned into vicious rabid animals. And Polar Bears became more humanoid.

"Of course, our mothers decided not to tell us. They didn't want us hearing about such destructive material. All they did was ban us from going to that small pond."

And here Nana paused. She clenched her hands into a ball of unreleased tension. "If I knew, I wouldn't have dared Lyle to come with me to the pond. He didn't want to, but I made him. And I teased him, called him a chicken until he finally agreed."

**X.X.X**

_"Fine, Nan. I'll come," Lyle finally relented. "But we are not going on the pond, do you hear me?"_

_"Aw, why not?" Nana put her hands on her hips and looked up into the boy's face. She scrunched her eyes playfully at him, trying to see what was bothering Lyle so much._

_Lyle sighed. "I don't know. The place gives me the creeps. And Mom wouldn't have banned us from going there for no reason."_

_Nana rolled her eyes at his cautious reasoning. "If it was serious, Ly, then they would've told us why! But they didn't. I think its just some myth so that we can obey them. Besides, how are we supposed to know what's really there if nobody's gone there? For all we know there could be something good!"_

_Lyle smiled gently at her innocence. He couldn't say no to her. "Okay, but still. We are not touching the pond at all, no skating on it, no nothing."_

_"Okay, boss! Whatever you say!"_

_When they got to the pond, they saw that it was frozen, and it was emitting a strange light. Nana hurried over to investigate._

_"Nana! Be careful!" Lyle's face and voice was laced with concern. He ran with her._

_"Stop being such a scaredy cat!" Nana teased. She reached the pond first and looked at the frozen surface interestedly. The pond emitted a pale yellowish light. It was as if a twilit sky's light had reflected off its surface. The fact that the sky was actually a pale bluish gray today, only added to its unnatural beauty. Nana stared at the glowing ice, entranced. "It's so beautiful..."_

_Lyle crouched down beside her, also staring at the ice. "It is..." he murmured. Suddenly he grinned. "I can see you!"_

_"What?" Nana asked, confused. She looked at him._

_"I can see your reflection," Lyle clarified, still grinning and looking at her reflection through the ice. She looked down and saw her face which was pink from running, and grinned too. She looked over at Lyle's face, at his blue eyes and for the first time, she noticed how clear they were. Her eyes raked over his brown, windblown hair, his pale skin and his lips, now colorless because of the cold. They were both so busy looking at each other that they did not notice that something was edging closer to them._

_"Hey, do you hear that?" Lyle suddenly asked. Nana saw his frame suddenly go unnaturally still, and saw his face frozen in fear. She listened. And suddenly she could hear it too. Something was breathing loudly and hoarsely._

_She felt her blood go unexpectedly cold. Slowly she turned around slowly in the snow, her heart beating and saw a Topi nearly ten feet away. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw the deranged expression in its yellow eyes. It wasn't the normal docile expression. It was mutant._

_"Ly... Its going to get us. Its a Topi... It looks all funny..."_

_"Don't move," he commanded in a whisper. "They won't attack unless you make any sudden movements."_

_The Topi had seen her, and he was now looking steadily at her. The stare made her feel uncomfortable. She wanted desperately to look away. She wondered what would happen if she looked away._

_She lowered her eyes._

_And that was all it took for the Topi to snarl, and lunge at her. She screamed when she felt the fur hit against her, hard. Her breath was knocked out of her completely. She landed on the ice, and threw her arms over her face to protect herself. She tried to regain her bearings, but the Topi was clawing, biting at her. She screwed her eyes shut and started screaming again._

_"Nana!" she heard Lyle say. She opened her eyes briefly and saw him standing on the bank, looking horrified._

_It was then that she realized just how dangerous her predicament was. The look in his eyes told her that she had to get off the ice as fast as possible before it cracked. Who knew how long it would take before the ice broke? But it seemed useless, she thought, as she tried to grapple with the Topi. She was kicking, elbowing doing whatever it took to get the ball of fur off of her, and the Topi was fighting just as hard._

_"Nana, I'm coming!" she heard Lyle say._

No_, she wanted to say. _No, don't come_. The ice was fragile and she couldn't afford any more weight here. Instead she screamed again more shrilly. The Topi looked startled and screwed its eyes shut at the noise she was making._

_"Get off of her!" Lyle yelled. He kicked the Topi from behind. The Topi sailed through the air and landed on the other side of the pond on the bank. It looked at the children, decided it was too much work to deal with both of them and scampered off into the woods._

_"Are you alright?" Lyle asked, worriedly. She felt his hands wrap around her and pull her up into a sitting position._

_"Yes, I'm quite alright." she swallowed. She felt the chilly wind pull past her face, and winced. The Topi must have scratched her face. She looked at him and tried to smile, but she still was numb from fear. "Thank you for saving me."_

_"I didn't save you. You saved yourself. If you hadn't screamed like that, we would've been killed!" he joked. She knew he was trying to make her feel better but she felt embarrassed._

_"Listen, we have to get off the ice," Lyle said. "Before anything happens."_

_There was a creak, and they both looked at each other nervously. "Let's go now," agreed Nana._

_They started slowly dog walking towards the bank, with Nana taking the lead. Her heart had finally slowed down. What a story to tell Lola and Popo when they got back! Beating a mutant Topi! She finally reached the end, and turned around in relief. "We did it!"_

_"Yes, we did," he said. But then the ice behind them began to crack the same way they had come. Nana gasped, and started moving quickly. She tried to pull herself up the bank, but she was too weak. She felt Lyle push her upward. She finally managed to get herself up, but when she looked down she saw that the cracks had traveled right to Lyle. Any second and it would break underneath him._

_"Lyle, you have to get out of there!"_

_"I'm going!" he yelled. She seized him by the arm and pulled as hard as she could. There was a pause in the creaking. Suddenly the ice broke beneath him. But she managed to pull him out in that second and they both lay gasping on the bank._

_"That was close!" she panted. She sat up, saw Lyle's face whiter than usual. "What's the matter?"_

_"Nothing," Lyle smiled. "Let's go home."_

**X.X.X**

Nana said, "Now that I look at it, Lyle was just trying to reassure me. The truth was, I didn't get him out in time." She hung her head. "The contamination got into boot, and his skin absorbed it. By the time we got home, which was a half hour later, I was told the poison had spread all over his body."

She had gotten up, and was looking out the window. She fingered the window sill, wiping the dust off of it. "So you see? It was my fault."

Young Link could not say any words of comfort. He knew he should have. But instead he numbly asked, "When did he die?"

"A year after I became a Smasher, which was two years after it happened." She turned away from the window, but her face was still hung. Her wet hair obscured her face. "The poison spreads easily, but it kills very slowly. At first, he couldn't even feel it in his body. But the symptoms... He became paralyzed waist down, and he was always aching. He threw up almost everything, and developed a high allergy to eggs, peanuts, milk, anything. He had to eat synthesized food, and then finally he couldn't chew or swallow so we fed him through a tube. Then he lost his eyesight, his taste... He lost all his senses, except his hearing. That was there until the very end, I was told. I couldn't be there for his funeral, because our contract says we can't leave the Mansion until we're there for more than a year... And once he was gone, Lola came. She couldn't stand being around her mother who was mourning every single day about both the men she lost. Master Hand took pity on her. She was never a fighter, she didn't have any skills. I taught her how to fight as soon as she came. "

Young Link opened his mouth, but there were no more words, no more questions.

**X.X.X**

Popo stared at the plastic bottle of pills in his hands. It said "Xanax" on it. He couldn't believe it. Were things really so bad in this house that, his mother was on depression medication?

"What are you doing?" Popo jumped, and turned around. Nina was staring at him. He shoved the pills back into the medicine cabinet, and slammed it shut.

"Mom... You're on depression medication?" he asked disbelievingly. He stared at her.

She gave him a careless glance. "I'll thank you to mind your own business. It really is none of your concern."

Popo protested, "Mom! When did this happen? What's bothering you?"

"I told you that it is none of your concern. Now get out of here. I did not raise you like this, so that you'd snoop around in other people's affairs."

"You're my mom!" he shouted, but she pushed him out of the bathroom and shut the door on him.

It was clear to him that he wasn't getting any answers here.

**X.X.X**

**Okay, yes, I know the chapter's really short. I'm still a little rusty. It has been a long time since I submitted anything on here (Looks like Fanfiction's gone through a shiny change! I have to get used to this new layout, fast) Its pretty nifty that you can check whose been visiting your story! I love this updated version of traffic! Anyway, I can't really be sure when I'm going to update. Soon, I hope, but I always say that and it never happens :P So anyway, that's pretty much it! Until next time!**

**~Crystalicios  
**


	16. Transformations

**A/N: Wow, I think it has been more than a year since I last updated? I guess I should be updating sometime about now, since I really would like to finish this story. I hate leaving things unfinished (I think I must have said this a billion times). Anyway, I was going through my previous works and I realized how crappy my work was as compared to now! Well, I still have a lot more to improve on, but it's weird seeing how far I've come. I can't give up now!**

**I would also like to take the opportunity to thank every single person whose ever reviewed. I no longer respond to reviewers anymore, and I am sorry about that, but if you have any questions, or anything at all that you'd like to ask me, you may always PM me. **

**Well anyway, without further ado, I bring you the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything Nintendo related. This is just a fan-based story. **

**X.X.X**

Popo Glace was not a person to ask many questions. Indeed, he found himself remarkably simple and his policy was never to ask nosy questions. He found Nana's curiosity irritable, and he had never understood why people would want to complicate their lives by asking unnecessary and rather intruding questions.

But his curiosity had been aroused right when he found the pills in his mother's drawer. The fact that his mother had told him not to ask questions only raised his curiosity further. However, Popo was inexperienced when it came to prying into other people's affairs because he never really bothered with it himself. So he found the only person he knew and could trust in a situation like this; Nana Glace.

"...And that's when she said to mind my business," Popo finished after relating the whole story to her. He took a deep breath. "I just see something fishy about this situation."

Nana sighed. "Well, it does seem like those pills are for Mom, but she doesn't look like a depressed person. Maybe the pills are working."

"But why is she even on those pills in the first place?" Popo asked desperately. He shifted his leg to prevent it from falling asleep. He stared up at Nana who was spread out on the bed with a faraway thoughtful expression on her face. It was the last day of their stay and the atmosphere of the Glace household had shifted from cheery and alive to gloomy and empty.

"Well," Nana started. She held her face up with her hands and propped her elbows on the bed. "Think about it. Mom's been through a lot. Dad died, and both of us are gone. Before Lila came to her house, Mom was alone, Popo. It had to have been hard on her. I'd be depressed living alone. Maybe depressed enough to see a psychiatrist to prescribe me some medication."

Popo pondered that. It was true that Nina had been through a lot. But up until now, he thought his mother was getting through this just fine. The thought that he was partially responsible for her depression sent tidal waves of guilt over Popo. They swirled around him, and crashed into him, drowning him.

Nana was watching his facial expression change. "It isn't your fault you know. I know what you're thinking." She hopped down the bed, her feet making a light _thud_ against the wood floor, signaling the conversation was over. As she neared the door she stopped, and twisted her head to face him and said gently, "We did what we had to do. Mom would never leave her home, but she would never be able to survive off just being a herbologist. She depends on our income. We need to be there. Don't think her depression is your fault."

She closed the door behind her and headed off but Popo still could not shake off the feeling that something was wrong.

**X.X.X**

Lola sat in front of the mirror staring at her face with what started off as a casual expression. But the more she looked in the mirror the more she didn't like what she saw.

Yes, it was true. Lola was a beautiful, young girl. With her features, she could go into modeling or become an actress based solely off her looks. But as she looked deeper into those blue eyes she was beginning to see that her eyes held something else other than beauty. There was a wide aria of emotions. Sadness was definitely there, as was loneliness that seemed to always be in her eyes. She thought she had shaken this emotion off by being with Young Link but then, it was true. They were never really meant for each other and now that she thought about it, he had only used her to get to Nana. But she had known this from the start, so she could not find it in her heart to be disgusted with him. And she had betrayed Nana as well, which was probably even worse than what Young Link had done to her.

Lola knew that the loneliness wasn't even justified. She was surrounded by those who loved her and she was very popular. But she felt like she just couldn't connect with any of the relationships that surrounded her. Nobody would really understand. They all thought she was shallow and vain. But, Lola thought as she picked up the hairbrush delicately with one slim hand and began to run it through her already untangled hair, she hadn't done much to discourage that notion from her acquaintances' minds.

The things she said aloud made people believe she was a very superficial girl who only cared about her appearance. While Lola did not deny that she placed her looks above most other traits, she felt like there was more to her besides just being attractive on the eyes. The truth though, was that she felt like she didn't have much to offer besides her looks. She felt like it was the best thing about her which was why she placed so much emphasis on them.

As Lola set the brush down, she heard the door open softly but she did not bother to glance behind her. If she did, she'd see all her bags packed neatly against the bed, which she knew would only worsen her mood. Although Lola loathed this place for all the bad memories, she did have many good ones and after all it was she felt, her only home now that her own had been crushed.

"All packed, snowflake?" Lola heard her mother ask in a soft voice, making Lola turn around to address her mother.

People had often said that Lila and her daughter looked extremely alike, a comment that had always made Lola glow with praise. Her mother was very beautiful. But as Lola looked at her mother, really looked at her it seemed ever since Lyle's death she realized how much alike the both of them were with a shock.

She glanced at the dark circles underneath her mother's eyes, creating a haunting, harrowed look. Those blue eyes now seemed to reflect a pool of sorrow, weakness, eyes that felt that they could never experience true happiness again. She glanced down at her mother's slackened jaw, and a chin that seemed to be trembling forever when looked upon closely. Weakness, surrender, they seemed to say. Lola knew she was responsible for some of this. She'd abandoned her mother when she had needed her daughter the most. But Lola had to escape it all. She had to. She could not bear to be in this dead, winter wonderland. The thought of this place depressed her, and she knew she had to get away from it before the sorrow drove her mad. Just like it seemed to will her mother away. She felt ashamed, but at the same time, the fear had driven her away.

It was like this that she was like her mother. Both were weak. If she stayed here, Lola thought as she looked at her mother's small frame, which now looked emaciated, she would be her mother in ten years. Perhaps even less. Lola couldn't bear that. She had to go.

"Yes, Lila. I'm all packed," she said softly. Lila's eyes seemed to twitch in shock, before before seemingly growing into a dark grayish blue color. The color reminded Lola of the sky before it rained, growing increasingly depressing.

Lila smiled disappointedly. "Good. Make sure you've packed everything. We wouldn't want you to forget anything here," she murmured. _Like me,_ she seemed to be thinking afterward. Lola could almost see the words forming over her mother's head.

Lola tried to argue with the overwhelming guilt that her mother could not expect her to stay. It was unfair of her. Shouldn't her mother want what was best for her? And wasn't leaving this miserable place what was indeed best for her? Lola grew slightly irritated as she thought about it more. Her mother could not expect her to stay in a place like this. She squeezed her eyes tightly, the words preparing to fly off her lips and smack her mother. But just as she was about to say something there was a knock at the door and two second pause before the door opened and Ness emerged.

Lola's and Lila's faces changed to accommodate the stranger that had entered the room. The way they both smiled at Ness in unison was almost scary and Ness, PSI powers or not could sense he had just walked into a very tense situation. He took a step forward, unsure of whether to speak or not. But then Lila prompted him gently, "What is it, Ness?"

Ness swallowed. "Er... Just wanted to tell you that uh... That we only have two hours before the portal emerges so I just uh... Wanted to make sure you had packed since you know, uh... Lola has a lot of packed stuff..." He mumbled, tapering off lamely.

Lola, already irritated, became even more irritated at what Ness had said. "And just what exactly are you trying to say here, huh?" she snapped.

Ness looked alarmed at her outburst and tried to do some damage control. "Nothing!" he said hastily, and before he could stop himself all these words started spewing out. "I, uh... Sorry if I upset you Lola, really sorry, didn't know you were mad. Are you all right? Is it cramps? Time of month? Did you take any Midol?" he asked quickly, firing one question after another without understanding that each question was making her even angrier and angrier.

"Shut up! It is NOT my time of month!" she snarled. Boys. They never knew the right things to say. She let out a very unladylike roar of frustration before stomping out and making a very dramatic exit.

_A very Lola-like exit,_ Ness couldn't help thinking. He gestured listlessly at the room and then proffered an apologetic smile towards Lila. "Er... Sorry. I didn't mean to be so rude..."

But Lila seemed to have brightened up considerably at the little exchange. Ness didn't know it, but he had punctured the tight air around them, prevented the mounting tension between her and Lola. For now, at least. Lila sighed. There would have to be a day where they both talked their feelings out. As much as Lila wanted Lola to stay with her always, she knew she had messed up pretty badly as a parent. With Lyle, and then pretending like Lola didn't exist while he was sick and after his death. She didn't know how to mend things between them.

**X.X.X**

Young Link had never seen snow besides when he fought at Icicle Mountain, and even then it wasn't real snow. The snow and the stages itself were only projections, so that the Smash fighters could be able to wear their respective costumes and not be at a severe disadvantage. So even though the Icicle Mountain stage looked cold, and was in fact slippery due to the ice, the temperature was always the same.

The snow in the actual Icicle Mountain had at first annoyed Young Link. He did not like it in the beginning but now he was beginning to appreciate this winter wonderland despite the barren atmosphere that accompanied it now. It was because of this that Young Link decided that he wanted to take it in one last time. So he dressed in considerably warmer clothes, and before he left, decided to take his sword, shield, hookshot, and arrows. You never knew what you could find in a place like this. In the short weeks he had been here Young Link had been in more than the usual life-death situations and though he was used to those sorts of incidents, he felt his chance at survival was minimal if he didn't have these items with him. He thought about taking his bombs with him, but then decided against it, fearing the explosions might actually attract unwanted attention, or worse an avalanche.

As he gazed at the white world around him, he wondered how it must have been like when the place was full of Ice Climbers. He imagined their way of living. It was certainly far different from the way he had seen other races of his own world lived. The Gorons would never be able to survive in a place like this. The thought of the big, rocklike creatures who loved the heat, living in ice was ludicrous. The Zoras probably would fare no better, as they would freeze to death. The Kokiris were forest dwellers. There would be no way they'd survive in a dry place with only evergreen trees. Perhaps Hylians would be able to survive here he thought.

He hadn't realized where he was walking. But now he recalled he was walking the very same path he and Nana had walked together to Lola's house in order to save their friend. He smiled as he remembered their adventures. It was the first time they'd actually worked together, and he realized that they actually made a good team. The Smash matches that they had when they were paired together always ended up in disaster. But Young Link supposed that this situation was different from the matches, because their survival depended on their cooperation.

He stopped at the mound of snow that covered the house. It had seemed like a long time ago they'd both entered in. Things were so different when they first entered. They were always bickering, and now...

Young Link recalled the way she had looked at him with unguarded eyes right when she stepped out of the shower and he unexpectedly felt heat rising up his neck, blooming across his cheeks. He could not possibly like Nana Glace, could he?

He thought about the way they'd bickered before coming here. Young Link felt ashamed at the way he'd treated her. What he had done to her was far worse than what she'd done to him. Even if he liked her, even if he confessed his feelings to her there was no way she'd return his feelings after everything that was said and done between them.

The realization of this made him unexpectedly depressed. He tried to shake it off, but the feeling persisted, and he was so caught up with his feelings and how confused he was, he began to walk again unaware of where he was going. But this time he was heading to a destination he'd never been before but had heard about...

**X.X.X**

"Packed already?" Popo asked Lola absentmindedly. They were both sitting in the living room. Everybody's luggage was already packed here, waiting for the warning signal to sound. The signal was a five minute warning before the portal opened. He had barely acknowledged the way she was still fuming over what Ness said to her.

"Yes!" she responded, annoyed. "Why does everybody keep asking me that? I am packed. I am a neat person! Just because I may pack an extra suitcase does not mean I can't keep up with the items I pack. Honestly what do you take me for? Somebody who doesn't do things on her own? I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, thank you very much!" she ranted.

Popo had no idea what had just happened. But he knew that Lola was upset. He'd spent so much time with her when they were younger that he just knew that something had been said to upset her.

"So who said what to you?" he asked automatically.

Lola let loose another roar of annoyance. "Ness! He said I was at my time of month! Do you know how degrading that is to women like me? Can't I just have a bad day and NOT be PMSing? Huh?" she asked, looking as deranged as a polished girl like Lola could get.

Popo started to laugh. He wasn't laughing at her, just at the situation. "Oh Lola."

"What is so funny?" Lola asked annoyed.

When Popo could finally speak properly he responded to her question. "Listen, guys are stupid. Especially to pretty ones like yourself. They don't know how to handle them when they're mad especially if they don't know _why_ you're mad. And if they don't know why, they'll automatically assume it's because you know... You're experiencing er... Womanly hormones because they think you're too perfect to be mad at something that they consider irrational. Now, not only are you a very pretty girl, but you're also high class. Guys like Ness don't know how to handle that, so they say stupid things like that. Don't hold it against him. He's just like that."

As Popo watched Lola, he knew he had once again mollified her. If anybody could calm her down, it was Popo. He saw just the barest hint of a smile which took his mind off of the bottle of pills from the cabinet for a minute.

Like many other boys who talked about Lola in the locker room at school, Popo thought Lola was a very attractive girl. But he would never voice to her how attractive he thought she was and how much more beauty he found in her than just her outward appearance. Lola never thought of Popo as more than just a brother, and that had always been the way between them both. He didn't mind this unrequited love. He found it oddly comforting as it was well within his comfort zone to just admire her from afar. The way the right side of her smile seemed to crook up just a little further when she was really smiling. And the way she arched her eyebrow when she checked her reflection in the mirror. He liked noticing and looking for these things in her, these things nobody really ever noticed.

"What have you got there?" he nodded at the magazine she was reading. She lifted it up to reveal a fashion magazine.

She didn't even look up when she responded, "10 signs he's the one."

Popo inwardly groaned. "Let's hear them then."

Lola looked up for once, surprise showing in her clear, blue eyes. "You want to hear them?"

"Sure, how bad can they be?"

Lola laughed and began reading them aloud. "Okay, number ten, he listens to everything that you say and actually seems interested in it..."

**X.X.X**

There was one last place Nana had to visit before she could go back to the Mansion. It was a place that haunted her for years now. She didn't know why she had the urge to visit the very spot that caused Lyle's demise, but the place had been in her thoughts ever since she'd stepped foot onto Icicle Mountain. She had kept putting it off but now she felt she could not do it anymore. So she began the trek to the secluded pond just a mile away from Lola's house.

As the area she was searching for materialized in front of her, her heartbeat quickened and she slowed down, wondering if it was a good idea to rehash this particular memory. But as she drank in the details of the pond, she could see that there was something not quite right about it. She just couldn't put her finger on it. The place had been uninhabited for many years. Nobody had gone to this pond as there were no more Ice Climbers left apart from Nina and Lila who lived on the mountain.

_So why...?_

And then Nana began to run when she realized that there was one set of footprints leading to the pond. Human footsteps. But there were none going out which meant somebody was there. She had to warn them.

**X.X.X**

"Ooh, so what's number 1, huh?" Popo asked teasingly. "I'm waiting to see what the last sign is."

Lola licked her lips nervously as she read the last sign. For all of these signs that she'd read so far she realized for the very first time that Popo matched all of them. But she didn't know if he matched this one.

"Well..." she laughed nervously. "This is a stupid one, I probably shouldn't read it."

Popo laughed, "Aw come on! It can't be as bad as, 'You like his sense of fashion'." Popo's expression turned serious. "Or maybe it is?"

Lola laughed, but Popo could detect the nervous tremor in it. "Alright," she obliged. She read the last sign. "When he kisses you good bye, he kisses you like it's your last." she forced a giggle that seemed to come off higher than usual. "What is that supposed to mean? That he's gonna break up with you soon?"

Popo laughed too, but he felt a blush blooming onto his cheeks. "I guess," he said quietly after the nervous laughter subsided. "I guess it meant to say that when he kisses her good bye, he kisses her in such a way that makes her feel that he doesn't take her for granted."

Lola froze at those words and she looked up at him, serious. "Do you think such a person exists who doesn't take a girl for granted?"

Popo looked at her and very honestly said, "For you Lola, I'm sure there are many guys who'd never take you for granted."

There was a pause as Lola stared at the glossy pages of the magazine, wondering if she should say the words she'd been itching to say all of a sudden. "What about you?" Lola finally dared to ask.

Popo didn't know how to answer this question. He knew she'd catch his lie, if he did lie. But what if he answered honestly and she didn't return his feelings? He decided to make light of the situation and suddenly smirked and said, "If you let me kiss you, maybe you'd find out."

**X.X.X**

Nana began to run faster, before she suddenly stopped short. Her heart which had been beating so hard, that that was all she could hear in her ears screeched to a halt as well.

It was Young Link.

He was half submerged in the contaminated water. He had managed to pull himself out up to his torso. All of his legs were submerged in the water. He was bent over the edge. His eyes were closed, his face was pale, and his shining usually golden blond hair seemed to change into a dull blond, hanging over his face.

"Link?" Nana asked, hysteria creeping into her voice. "Link!" she screamed. But there was no response.

_How could this have happened twice?_ Nana thought. Her brain was slowly growing numb. _First Lyle, now Link. But he can't be dead. He can't be dead. He can't be dead..._ she thought over and over, like a mantra.

She crept over to him, silently grateful that she'd worn a full leather suit today, rather than her typical wool parka. This way, she could touch Young Link without worrying that the contaminated water would touch her skin. The leather would prevent anything from passing through. She grabbed his arms firmly and dug her heels in the snow and began to pull him out. She gritted her teeth, upon finally managing to succeed, and dragged his body a safe distance away from the pond and set him down. "Oh God, please be alive," Nana murmured. The initial shock that had numbed her down was finally beginning to fade away, and fear was taking over, piercing her body with such coldness that could not compare to the wintry atmosphere around her.

She turned him so that he was lying on his back, with his face looking up directly towards the sky. She grabbed his wrist and tried to feel for a pulse but she realized her leather gloves were too thick to determine if he was alive or not. She gently wiped his now dull blond hair away from his face so that she could see his face, now pale, and curiously flatter and wider. Shaking, she placed a hand on his face, sliding down his cheek which seemed more rotund than usual. And weren't his eyebrows more arched? This wasn't Young Link, was it?

"Link...?" she whispered. "What has happened to you?" she bent over him and placed both her hands gently on either side of his face, so that his face was sandwiched between them.

"Link," she began, sternly, staring at his closed eyes. "If you don't get up, then I win." she started saying, blabbering now. "Yeah, that's right. I win this little prank war we have going on. Because you know what? I'll give you that, you were winning before that. Your pranks were better than mine, even if they were harsh... But you dying? It means you gave up. And I didn't. So it means that I win. It means you couldn't handle me, what with Lola, and finding out more about my life. I mean, I guess you weren't so bad after all. I bet I could even like you if we weren't like this."

She paused at her words as she said this, before realizing they were true. "But," she said, looking at him and realizing it was too late to save him, "I guess you're gone. And you left us." she began to shake uncontrollably again. She wasn't even aware of it. She realized his face was still warm, but that would change. His body would become as cold as the air around him. So she held on to his face, desperate for the warmth that had once been her friend and enemy and bent down so that she as close as she would allow herself to be without touching him. She stared at his closed eyelids, looking more almond-like by the second. She wished he'd open his eyes and stare at her with those blue eyes. The same ones that she'd dreamt about, watching over her.

She didn't realize that the tears were flowing out of her eyes, until they hit Young Link's face. But she didn't care. Until his face twitched in response to the hotness of her tears.

"N-Nana?" his eyes shot open and Nana stared at him for a second before she yelped and threw herself backward, crawling away from him, not daring to believe what she'd just seen.

His gaze on her was piercing as before, yet now there was a sort of flatness to it.

Because his irises had turned black.

**X.X.X**

**End of Chapter 15.**

**Please tell me what you think! And please tell me what exactly you liked/disliked about it. Reviews are definitely helpful! Thank you all so much!**

**- Crystalicios**


	17. Favors

He could taste the static. Feel the steady drip down his slick back making an unidentifiable noise. Couldn't feel anymore and it sounded muted. And then he could. Miraculous. Wonderful.

It smelled like dirt. No, that sounded wrong. It tasted brown. Coffee, caffeine, he didn't know the difference between brown and a warm summer's day. It could be one, it could be both.

Stared at his hand. It wasn't flesh. It was worms. It could have been a tree at one point but now it was just solid silver, ever shifting. It was evolving, pulsing within the very cells of his being.

Couldn't tell the difference between backwards and backwards or forwards and forwards. What was that sinuous sound? What was that feeling, like dredging up a faint sigh from the depths of the deepest pool you'd ever laid your eyes on?

He could smell the brown again. Smelled more like mahogany or nougat, or maybe just plain normal brown. Did that exist? He could sense a wrinkle in the fabric of time shifting like an eel in and out, gasping, writhing. It hurt in more ways than one way to feel. Then static. Gentle, glorious static. Let him drown in that static. It felt _safe._

What would happen if he took the knife and, just like air, sliced it through the stitches? Even more appealing and desirous, how would it feel to slip it in, quietly without protest into a person's ribcage? Cut off his aorta. Cut a slice of the superior vena cava. It would stop pulsing. Eat it, suck in the juices.

Red. So much red. And then brown. And then black.

Smell the trees. Smell the autumn. A splash like the one you heard when you accidentally dropped a coin, which brought the scent of lilies. No, the smell of grass. Maybe it could be both.

Black again. No, he didn't like it here. Except, he really did. And that's what made him scared.

There's a creak and a moan, sensuous and heavy with the world's burdens. There's an explosion of brilliance, of something that sparkles like a butterfly and it becomes so bright it hurts to look but he does it anyway. Because he embraces the pain. It is who he is.

And then he opens his eyes and allows just one. Just one tear to slip down his eye, down the curve of his cheekbone as he stares at a white ceiling and smells the rasp of the sick trying to hold onto life. He realizes that is _his _scent that he is inhaling.

He cries because it is no longer brown and beautiful. But mostly he cries because he's finally _back_.

And everything makes sense again.

**X.X.X**

"Does he have any family?"

"We are his family."

"I meant blood related."

"Oh. Well, I'm not... Not quite sure."

"He doesn't. He's an orphan."

"Is that so? Well then, I will have to inform you that his vitals appear to be normal. As a matter of fact, aside from this bizarre change, everything is normal."

"Are you sure?!"

"We have been monitoring him ever since you brought him here. Aside from the fact that he was comatose for three days, everything seems normal. There were times when his brain activity levels went up abnormally, but ever since he's woken up, everything is completely normal."

"So, when can we see him?"

"If you'd like, you could see him now."

The doctor was not Dr. Mario. It was some other guy that Nana forgot the name to. She didn't care about names at the moment. All she could think about was how she'd pulled him out of the pond and dragged him back to their house. After his eyes shot open, he appeared to be disoriented but he followed her. And then halfway to their house he collapsed. But whether this was from hypothermia or the effects of the contaminated water, Nana couldn't say. The rest of the trip back was painful and slow. He did not wake up, no matter how many times Nana screamed, kicked and pulled his hair.

They'd missed the portal of course. They had to be taken down from Icicle Mountain manually. Samus had volunteered to pick them up and they sat in her Gunship. She'd flown them to an actual hospital, closest to Smash Mansion, upon realizing what had happened. And ever since then Nana, Popo, Lola and Ness had been taking trips to visit him.

The doctor said he appeared fine. That maybe he had passed out from fatigue. The doctor said he would reawaken soon. But he hadn't.

Until now.

Everybody was apprehensive. They didn't know what to expect. Young Link had indeed changed in appearance. No longer was his face the pointed, blue eyed, oval shaped face. It had taken on a cartoonish appearance. His hair was no longer golden, it was a lighter blond and it was messier. The bangs hung over his forehead, and his face was rounder, less pointed. And his eyes. His eyes were what frightened Nana the most.

They were a flat sort of black.

Lola put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it, noting her expression. "Hey," she said softly. "Everything's going to be okay."

It was strange to find Lola being this comforting. But Nana appreciated it all the same, even if she wasn't ready to admit the worry that was going through her mind. "I'm not worried," she protested.

In her mind, she could see Lyle and his reassurance that everything would be okay moments after he'd touched the water. How could it have happened again? Her eyes slid to Popo whose mind seemed to be elsewhere. Ever since Young Link went to the hospital, he'd been distant from the rest of the group and Nana couldn't fathom why. She supposed it had to do with finding Nina's antidepressants. She felt a guilty stab at this, but told herself she'd make it up to him soon afterward.

They entered the room that Young Link was in and all thoughts of Popo's strange behavior left Nana's mind. Young Link was staring out the window, at the snowy landscape. His expression was distant, vague.

"Link?" Ness intoned softly.

Young Link turned towards them and he smiled weakly. "Hey," he said. His enormous black eyes carefully glanced over each of his friends' faces, ending at Lola's.

"How... how are you?" Popo asked tentatively.

Young Link shrugged. "I'm honestly not sure. I... feel weird."

"Weird? In what way?" Ness said.

Young Link swallowed hard. "Just different." Growing self conscious of everyone watching him, he stared at his hands for a moment, wondering what to say or what to do. He didn't want to recount how he'd nearly lost his life, he didn't want to recount what he felt right before he lost consciousness. And so he stayed silent. Because nobody could understand those brief moments when he thought he almost died.

For Nana's part, she simply watched carefully, warily. A part of her wanted to shake his shoulders and demand to know his secrets as to how he survived. Another part of her just wanted to breathe a big sigh of relief and tell him that she was glad he was okay. But the biggest part of her was simply content in knowing he was okay. And that was just enough for her.

"You had us all worried there."

For one heart stopping moment, Nana thought she had said that, but when she saw that Young Link's eyes had shot to Lola's eyes, her heartbeat slowed down. He cocked his round face at her. "Why?"

Lola's eyes scrutinized him as if he were an idiot. And he probably was. "Because, we care about you! We thought you were going to die! You didn't wake up for three days, Link. How the heck do you think we're supposed to feel?"

She was saying all the things Nana desperately wanted to say, but couldn't choke out.

Something seemed to shift in Young Link's eyes. The harshness of his blackened eyes seemed to go softer. "I'm still here."

"Yeah? Well try not to get so close to dying again," Ness said.

Young Link smiled; Nana felt like she could stare at him for ages when he did that. But of course, she wasn't about to tell him that. "Done deal." He sighed, closing his eyes. "The doctor says I'll get out within the week. They want to monitor me for at least 48 more hours before they let me go."

"Well that's perfect! You'll be just in time for the Masquerade Ball!" Lola squealed. "It's in a week and a half!"

Young Link groaned softly. "Lola, I'm not going to that thing."

"But you have to!" Lola responded, shocked. "We're all old enough to go now!"

Young Link rolled his eyes, much to Nana's delight. This was a part of the Young Link she knew. She let out an internal sigh of relief. "Lola, I almost died and you want me to go to a frikkin' dance?"

Lola adopted a savage look on her face. "Young Link Gaiden, you will go to the ball and I don't care if you're an inch away from death. You are going, and that's final."

An irritable look crossed over Young Link's face. "Don't call me that," he said. "I'm not so young anymore. And besides, who's gonna go out with me? I won't have time to get a date."

"Like you need one," Ness snorted.

"Easy for _you _to say. You've got Paula."

Ness blushed a deep red. At some point in the past couple of weeks, Nana would have been immensely bothered by Ness's reaction and upon hearing the news that he was going out with Paula. But now, all she blurted was, "Really?"

It was the first word she'd spoken upon entering the hospital room. Young Link's eyes shot to her curiously, but he didn't say a word.

Ness turned redder. "Yeah," he said. Then, in an obvious attempt to change the turn of conversation he remarked, "Well nobody else here's got a date. Lola, Nana or Popo. They're all going stag."

Lola tossed her glossy black hair with the air of an Egyptian princess. "You must mean Popo and Nana," she responded loftily. "I'll get myself a date soon, you'll see."

Nana didn't doubt her words. Lola was very capable of finding somebody for herself.

Popo cleared his throat. "It doesn't matter if you go alone," he said. "There's nothing wrong if you just go as friends."

Lola looked uncomfortable. For the strangest moment, Nana wondered why, but before she could dwell on it any further Young Link snorted. "I'm not going to the ball," he reiterated. "You all are welcome to go, but I'd rather just sleep through it."

"C'mon man!" Ness said. "It won't be fun without you."

Young Link was about to respond, in a very cheeky way too, but at that moment the doors opened and Master Hand floated in, his fingers tense and tight. He stopped upon seeing the other Smashers. "Oh, what a surprise to see you all." But his voice didn't seem to suggest that he wanted them there. And sure enough, he added after a long, uncomfortable pause, "Do you mind if I speak to... er... Young Link alone?"

They did, but they weren't going to tell him that. Master Hand wasn't to be contested against and all of them knew that. So they all murmured in agreement and slowly exited the place. Nana lingered at the doorway, stealing one last glance at Young Link who had his attention focused on the giant, floating hand. Then, she left, her unspoken words lingering in the air.

"First off, I would like to say Link, that I am glad you are alive," Master Hand said.

Young Link said nothing, but acknowledged his thanks by a slight nod of the head. The heart monitor beeped steadily as he focused his eyes on his boss who floated slowly in front of him. "How are you feeling?" Master Hand finally asked.

Young Link shrugged. "Okay, I guess. Just glad to be alive."

"Is there anything you need?" Master Hand asked.

"Not really." Young Link shrugged. "Just a bit of rest. What did you need?" he asked. For Young Link knew that there was a reason Master Hand wanted to visit him alone. The gloved hand gave off an air of forced calm.

Master Hand paused, trying to find a way to begin. Master Hand was all about appearances, and he usually did not like getting his points across bluntly. But if the boy was demanding an answer, then he supposed he had to say something quickly. "Your appearance has changed. Drastically."

"Yes," Young Link responded. "I know that."

Master Hand sighed. If he were a human, Young Link imagined, he would be running a hand through hair. But he was a hand. "You are no longer Young Link."

Young Link's eyebrows raised. Then he gave a short burst of mirthless laughter. "What d'you mean? 'Course I am. Just 'cause my appearance has changed..."

Master Hand interrupted, "You may retain memories of Young Link who has spent his time at Smash Mansion. But do you remember anything else? Your family, perhaps? Anything before you made the Mansion your new home?"

"Well, how can I not! I remember-" Young Link said, before his words skidded to a half. He was going to say he remembered the Kokiri Forest, learning to play the Ocarina, seeing Epona for the first time but then he realized he didn't. He could not remember the scent of the forest, could not remember the way the Ocarina felt against his lips, did not remember even how Epona even looked like. "I..."

How was it possible? He clearly remembered telling Popo and Ness about his life when they'd bonded. He remembered them asking who was the Deku tree, and Young Link remembered responded saying that the tree was like a father to him.

"I have been researching the sample of water that you were doused in before you changed into what you are. It is fatal to most humans. That is why most Ice Climbers in the region died to it. But I have a theory perhaps as to what happened to you. I believe that this water has changed you because it cannot kill you."

"What do you mean?" Young Link asked, only half paying attention. He was still trying to understand it. His memories were a blank sheet. What was his childhood? He scanned his memories. The older Link was telling him that he was almost as bad as Mido when it came to what he'd done to Nana. But who was Mido?

"Your spirit, Link. It will always be reborn, and the goddesses of your area have deemed it so. In different ways, I gather, judging by your appearance, but in essence you are the holder of the Triforce of Courage and that cannot be broken so easily."

Link's eyes snapped to Master Hand, temporarily abandoning thoughts of a humming Malon. "I don't understand," he mumbled.

"Don't you? Your body is nothing compared to the power of your spirit and soul. You are a reincarnation, Link. The water failed to brutally kill you because your spirit would not be broken. It's what the water does. It mangles your spirit and warps you into something evil. The Topis and Polar Bears are savage because they let the water take their spirits. The Ice Climbers who succumbed to that death would not let the water change their very essence and being so they paid the price for it with their lives."

"And I didn't die because...?"

"This cursed water is no match for the gift that the goddesses have bestowed upon you. The water took your body, but the goddess simply replaced it with a different body, and with a different body a different life."

"But if I have a different life, then why don't I remember it?" Link asked, bemused. "Why do I only remember what happened in the Mansion?"

Master Hand paused. "I don't know," he answered with a touch of softness in his voice. "I don't have all the answers figured out yet. But I think your experiences at the Mansion has nothing to do with your personal life that you, as Young Link, were."

Link didn't like the way Master Hand said, "were." He recalled how he had never liked the "Young" before his name, hated how it forever made him a little boy. But now he missed it. If he wasn't Young Link then who was he?

"I'm sure that life will revolve around you, Link," Master Hand interrupted. "I'm sure the people of your life will be looking for you. You may even have a family," he said, and it sounded like he was smiling when he said that.

And then the hand was gone, and Link was left to look at his hands that he was still growing into. How did it feel to only have half your memories?

For the first time that day, Link was glad he was alone. He checked to make sure that visiting hours were over.

And then he allowed himself to cry over the loss of himself.

**X.X.X**

"What about this one?" Lola asked, holding a picture up to Nana.

"Mmm," Nana responded vaguely, trying to close her eyes to remember what she'd just read. Latin just wouldn't come easy for her.

"Nana!" Lola yelled, waving the magazine in front of her. "Hello?"

Nana irritably swiped the magazine away. "What?!" she snarled. "Can a woman do her Latin homework in peace?" She still had about a week to do all the holiday work that they'd been left with. But she wanted to distract herself from thinking about what Master Hand wanted to discuss with Young Link. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

"This dress? Do you like it?" Lola asked persistently. It was one of those really stretchy tight mini dresses. Totally Lola. Nana sighed. "I guess."

Lola threw her hands up. "You're hopeless! I knew I should've got a dress for the Masquerade Ball _before _we went to Icicle Mountain! I bet there's nothing good at the mall."

Nana rolled her eyes. "Who are you even dressing for anyway? You don't even have a date."

Lola glowered. "I don't dress for my _date_, Nana. I dress up because _I_ want to. I do it for myself."_  
_

"You like spending hours of preparing yourself for just one night?" Nana asked, wrinkling her nose up.

"I like looking good. It makes me feel good," Lola responded. There was a moment of silence. Before Nana could get back to her studies fully, Lola said quietly, "Nana, I know we don't always see eye to eye, but this is what I like doing. I know you frown upon it but I... I like it. Can't you like that about me? Just let me be?"

Nana looked up from her work and sat with her legs criss-crossed on the bed. Lola was staring at her seriously and Nana felt like she had to respond in kind. "I just think that there is more to you than all of that, Lola," she said carefully. "I don't know everything about fashion and beauty, and maybe that's why I condone it. And maybe I condone it because I feel as if I think these magazines and fashion shows are just... They're unattainable. So why even try? I find them demeaning."

Lola shrugged. "I know. I get that a lot from you. And I'm aware that I can never look like her," she said, pointing at the supermodel on the cover of _FireFlower! _"I know it's photoshopped. But that doesn't prevent me from wanting to feel pretty. It makes me feel good about myself. But it doesn't mean that I'm demeaning myself. I don't know how to make you understand, that this _is _me."_  
_

Nana shook her head. "I think you're more than that, Lola. I didn't see it before, but now I do. You're more than a face and you're more than just that girl you pretend to be. You might like all that stuff, but there's more to you than just that."

Lola's eyes widened but she didn't say a word. For a moment, she felt inexplicably lost. But then she turned her face away and said to the wall, "Whatever, Nana. Don't try to analyze me."

Nana rolled her eyes. She bit back a retort, a rarity for her. Instead she bent over her work and tried to finish it, seething quietly.

**X.X.X**

The day Young Link was let out of the hospital was a day of joy to the rest of the Smashers. There was a quiet party upon his return and Master Hand cautioned everybody to not talk about his appearance. "Don't make him feel self-conscious," he warned the Smashers an hour before Young Link was to make his arrival.

Of course, this advice was not heeded by most. "What happened to your face?!" Roy yelled upon looking at his face.

Peach slapped him upside the head and whisper-yelled, "You can't just ask somebody what happened to their face, Roy!"

Roy turned around and said, "Mind your own business, Peach!"

Peach put her hands on her hips and began to argue with them. Young Link was conveniently forgotten, and he was perfectly fine with that. He tried to move unnoticed; he was uncomfortable with the spotlight he'd been thrust into. "Not so fast, little bro," the older Link said, stopping him in his tracks. "Got time?"

Young Link shrugged and Link led him outside to the gardens. It was a chilly afternoon and the only traces of green were the evergreens. Everything else was covered in blankets of snow. "How are you feeling?" Link asked him carefully.

Young Link shrugged again.

"Come on, Link, give me something to work on," Link said, slightly frustrated.

"What do you want me to say?! That I'm perfectly okay?" Young Link yelled, frustrated. "I don't remember how I even grew up to be the person I am, Link. And I don't even know how I'll turn up, now that we're no longer the same person. What does that leave me? Just the present? I feel so incomplete! And you don't have to act like you care about me. We're no longer connected, so just leave me alone!"

Link was quiet. They stared at the sky, the cold glare of the sun that hardly warmed their skins up. Link turned to the boy who was no longer him. "I don't know what happened to you, Link," he began. "But I still feel connected to you. And even if I didn't, I'd still care about you."

He dropped to one knee so that he looking slightly up at Young Link. Young Link felt the older teen put an arm around his shoulder and said softly, "Hey. I know this is confusing. You must not know what to do. You feel like you don't know your identity. But I can help you. We can all help you find it because some of us know the kind of guy you are."

"Oh yeah? And what's that?" Young Link snapped. His large eyes darted everywhere but Link's. He didn't want to look there. He was afraid of what he'd find.

"An annoying brat," Link responded, smirking.

Young Link shoved away from him.

"But we all love you Link," he said. "You think you don't have family, but you _do_. Smash Mansion is your family. We're your family. And Zelda and I and everyone else are going to have your back."

Young Link didn't know what to say. So he mumbled, "Thanks."

"Not a problem."

They walked back inside where Young Link was met by Popo, Ness and Lola. "You're missing the party, dude!" Ness said excitedly. "Kirby's already eaten half the food and Yoshi's eating the other half! They're trying to see who will finish more in the fastest amount of time!"

Exactly what was so exciting about this, Young Link had to wonder, but he pretended to be enthusiastic about it anyway. "Really?" he said.

Lola sniffed. "It's repulsive."

"Well you have to admit, Lola, it's quite a sight," Popo said, grinning.

Lola raised a brow but didn't do much but take a step away from him. Popo's grin faded a little.

It was indeed a sight. Kirby's mouth was a vacuum for the food at the table. Other Smashers stood around, egging him on, but Yoshi wasn't backing down with a fight. The dinosaur's tongue proved a worthy opponent. Young Link looked on for a couple of minutes, entranced. When he finally tore his eyes away from the sight that had begun to take a sickening turn (Yoshi was beginning to slow down, looking greener than usual) he looked around the room. There was a dance floor and a bunch of Smashers were doing the bunny hop. Most of them were drunk, Young Link noted. Then he frowned.

"Where's Nana?" he asked Popo.

Popo shrugged, hardly listening to him. Now that he thought about it (And guiltily, he hadn't much since he woke up) he hadn't seen much of the pink-clad Ice Climber. It bothered him that he only realized now that she wasn't here.

A quick combing of the crowds only confirmed that. He supposed he could ask Lola, but he wasn't sure if that was a good idea. He remembered with acuity of her accusations that he was interested in her. He blushed and forced his thoughts away from that memory. He wasn't ready to face that yet.

And he supposed, it didn't matter if Nana was missing.

Yet his eyes still carefully roamed the room, searching as if on their own will.

**X.X.X**

Nana wasn't sure of a lot of things, but there was one thing she did know. You had to face your fears sometime, right?

Standing in one of the bathrooms, she felt trapped. Popo and the others would doubtlessly realize she wasn't there if she stayed in here for too long. But the truth was, she was frightened of seeing Young Link. How do you face _that _kind of mess? She ran a hand over her face. What happened at Icicle Mountain? What made her afraid of looking him in the eye? They were questions she didn't want to answer.

She recalled all the times they'd argued, how it was so easy for her to get into his face, to touch him and to yell at him. It was so easy back then and now she felt as if everything changed. When did that happen? She tried to recall the actual time but ultimately failed. She supposed these feelings had crept up on her slowly and wasn't aware of them until it was too late. She glanced at herself in the mirror. Did it really matter when it happened? She supposed not. All she knew was that it was there and she had to deal with them, like it or not. She couldn't stay here hiding forever.

So with a colossal sigh, she prepared to exit the bathroom but at that moment in time the doors burst open and a highly flustered Zelda strode in, her head bent. Upon seeing Nana she started. Her face was red. She looked as if she were on the verge of tears. "Oh... Nana! I'm sorry!"

Nana felt embarrassed. "Er... Don't bother, I was just leaving. Are you... Are you alright?" She asked hesitantly.

Zelda waved a hand that was meant to be reassuring, but it came alarmingly close to slapping Nana across the face. She tried to laugh. "Oh, I'm fine. I'm fine, really!"

Nana raised an eyebrow. "Sure you are," she murmured. Aloud, she asked, "What's wrong?"

Zelda took one look at Nana, stilling for a moment in her frantic ministrations. Then she crumpled to the floor and began to sob hysterically. "Link asked me to marry him!"

"Zelda, that's great! Congratulations!" Nana exclaimed. She took a step back warily and eyed the Hylian princess. Her blond hair was coming undone from its hairdo. Nana concluded that she wasn't happy at all.

"No! It's not great," Zelda sobbed, rocking back and forth from her sitting position. "It's awful!"

"Why? Don't you love him?" Nana inquired, astonished. "You guys have been going out for ages and ages." Nana had always been envious of their relationship despite Link telling her about how it was forbidden for them to date as she was of noble birth. It sounded incredibly romantic to Nana, although she would never say it aloud to anyone.

"Of course I do! B-but, I have to let him go..." Zelda said. It took Nana a good couple of minutes to decipher what Zelda was saying and it wasn't because what the princess was saying was shocking. It was really because Zelda was really hard to understand when she was crying. Her face was scrunched up, her face was on the verge of turning a deep purple and the tears that slid down her face did not do her face any favors. Nana mentally slapped herself. _I sound just like Lola! _"I can never marry him... My father would be furious! I'm betrothed to Marth after all!"

Nana realized now why Link had scowled that one day in the woods at Marth's name. So this was why. "Isn't Marth interested in Samus?" Nana asked carefully.

"Of course he is, it's not a well kept secret!" Zelda wailed aloud. Nana took another step backward, alarmed. "B-but he's of noble birth a-and Altea and H-hyrule are always at odds. It's for the good of our k-kingdoms that we join in m-marriage."

"Why can't Marth just say he doesn't want to marry you?" Nana asked. She didn't understand what the big deal was. Once Marth inherited the throne, Nana was sure that the kind prince would come to a peaceful agreement that didn't involve marriage with Hyrule.

"That's just not how it works. Even if he said he didn't want to marry me, my dad would just find somebody else of noble birth. He'd never consider Link who is a commoner."

The way Zelda said "commoner" was like she'd spat out a dirty word. Nana stared at her for one long, disgusted moment. "You're an idiot," she finally said.

Zelda looked up, astonished, her face bemused and tear-streaked. "E-excuse me?"

"You heard me, Zelda!" Nana sounded furious, but she felt furious too. She was thinking about the older Link, the way he'd sat next to her in the deserted woods. That kind of look that he got in his eye when he talked about Zelda was what made Nana furious. "You're an idiot! It's clear that your father's not really the problem. You're just making excuses. You might love Link, but you don't love the fact that he's a commoner."

Zelda sat up bolt upright and stared at Nana. "How dare you!" she said, but it sounded weak with the shuddering breath that she took.

"Yes Zelda, I dare you. You're a coward and you are weak. You've got to choose what you value more; Link or your high status. If you can't do that then maybe you don't deserve him. Do you think Link doesn't know that you're a princess? He knew and he still asked you. Think about that for a moment."

With those words, she turned on her heel and prepared for an exit, leaving Zelda on the floor.

"Wait!" Zelda cried. "Where do you think you're going?!"

"I need to see a friend! I've got to be there for him!" Nana said before the door closed on her. She realized it was true. Young Link _was _friend. She had to know if he still was there.

Saying so, the first thing her eyes locked on was Young Link, looking abnormally cartoon-ish. It would take Nana awhile to get used to his new appearance. He was looking at something, a little aways from Ness and Popo and when Nana followed his eyes, she could see that he was squinting at Lola who was part of that ridiculous bunny hop dance line. She appeared to be the only one sober in that line.

He looked extremely confused and lost, and he didn't appear to notice it. Nana started towards him but all of a sudden a hand landed on her shoulder and she spun around. Samus.

"Have you seen Zelda?" the bounty hunter asked, her lips frowning. "Link's looking for her."

Nana considered lying but this consideration only lasted a split second. "She's crying her eyes out in the bathroom."

Samus's eyes widened. "What? Why?"

Nana shrugged. "Ask her." For although Nana was mostly a blunt person, she still didn't think it was a good idea to tell Samus the real reason. It didn't seem right that she should hear it through another person.

Samus uttered a foul word before heading to the bathroom and Nana was about to turn towards her destination when she saw Pit. In the Mansion.

Well, weirder things had happened, she guessed. "What are you doing here?"

Pit shrugged. "Lola invited me."

"Did she?" Nana asked somewhat suspiciously.

Pit's sky blue eyes were dancing in amusement. "Jealous you didn't think of it first?" he teased.

Nana faltered. "What?" She asked, suddenly flustered. "That's not true!"

Pit laughed softly. "It's too easy to pull your leg, Nana." Then he scanned the room. "So where is she?"

Nana pointed at the bunny hop with a dour look on her face. "Why did she invite you?" she wondered aloud. It was practically never heard of that the Smashers invited outsiders for small parties.

Pit shrugged as if he could care less, but Nana had an idea of her own. It was obvious that Lola had invited him for a different purpose. She recalled her friend's words in the hospital room by Young Link's bed. She wanted a date of her own. Pit was perfect for Lola, Nana thought, in terms of arm candy at least. He was amiable enough with the most alluring eyes and the tousled brown hair only served to make him look even more attractive. He was smart and funny too, but Nana privately felt as though it probably didn't matter to Lola. The corners of her lips turned downward.

"Want to meet my friends first?" she asked, and without waiting for a response, she grabbed the angel's wrist and tugged him towards Ness, Popo and Young Link. "Lola looks a little preoccupied at the moment."

Pit nodded though he'd already met Nana's friends. He wasn't anxious to join what was now turning into a messy line. Captain Falcon, drunker than the rest, looked particularly green in the face as he hopped backwards. Well at least he knew how to have a good time, Nana thought grimly.

"This is Ness, Popo and Young Link," she said pointing at each of the boys in turn when they got there.

"Holy cow, Young Link! What happened to your face?" Pit yowled.

Young Link gave a sour smile. "How did you get here?" His eyes traveled towards Nana and how she was still holding onto his arm. "Oh, now I know," he drawled, and a nasty smirk eclipsed on his face as though of its own accord.

Nana's eyes widened. "It's not like that!" she quickly sputtered, letting go of his arm.

Young Link lazily flicked his hand away. "That's okay, Nana. You don't have to explain anything to me. I'm over using any of your personal life to embarrass you. I'm pretty sure it speaks for itself." His heart was beating painfully hard and it was hard to maintain a careless facade, but he did it anyway.

Nana's jaw worked furiously. Of course she was used to his insults, but he never failed to say precisely the thing to get her worked up. "Your outward appearance may have changed for the worse, _Toon _Link. But you're just as stupid as you were before!"

Young Link's eyes narrowed at the new title she'd bestowed him. "Now _that _is an insult truly. Coming from you," he responded languidly.

"Er... We're not going out, if that's what you were asking," Pit said, before Nana could send off a retort.

Young Link smirked even more widely at this. "Of course you aren't, even _I_ would be embarrassed to say that I'm going out with Miss Glace here."

Nana sputtered in rage. Before she even knew what she was doing she lunged at the young Hylian, knocking him off his feet. As they tumbled to the floor, Ness and Popo shouted in alarm, whilst Pit stood by interested.

Other Smashers had paused to look as Nana sat up, her hands fisted in the lapels of his shirt. She brought him up savagely, his face almost smacking into her's. _He is so infuriating! What do I see in him? _His wide black eyes stood inches apart from her's and suddenly he looked uncomfortable with the close proximity. She glared at him furiously. "What is your problem?" she growled.

Link opened his mouth, but words failed him upon looking at her impossibly dark brown eyes. There was a hint of chocolate in there, but most of it was almost black, he thought. He noted that as usual, her defenses were up and that her eyes had that carefully guarded look. It became easier to look her in the eye, with this realization. He grinned and brought his face closer to Nana who suddenly backed away, unsure of herself. She let go of his shirt, much to his disappointment. But he wouldn't show that he liked it. Not to her.

"I don't have a problem with you at all," he whispered as innocently as he could. "You're not worth my time."

He was hoping for something, he didn't know what. Perhaps to see the guardedness in her eyes to finally break away but instead they became even more fortified. She wrenched away from him, pushing him violently away from him. He already missed the warmth and the pressure her weight brought him.

As he heard Popo berate Nana for her decidedly uncouth attitude, he stood up, brushing himself off.

"He _just_ got out of the hospital, Nana!"

"Are y'all deaf to all the rude things he says to me?!" Nana yelled back.

"Please don't ever say _y'all _ever again," Ness said, embarrassed for Nana. They both ignored the PSI boy.

"It doesn't matter what he said to you. Part of growing up is to take it all in stride."

"Of course, Popo. You just let people do things and you let them get away from it. As usual! Don't pretend like you're perfect too!"

Popo's face turned red as he quietly asked, "What is that supposed to mean?"

The Smashers nearby were looking at the kids in interest. Pit wisely seemed to notice this. "We should probably get out of here."

"No!" Nana and Popo both turned to Pit and yelled at the same time before facing each other.

Nana faced Popo. "You have never taken initiative, Popo. And when you do and things don't go your way you just give up! You never fight for it!"

"That isn't true!" he yelled, although it was half-hearted. For at that moment, his eyes briefly turned towards Lola who was staring at them from the dance floor.

Their eyes met for a brief moment and then her fake blue eyes flickered away. Disappointing. Unsure.

* * *

_Lola fidgeted. "I... I don't know... Popo. I've never thought about you that way."_

_Popo's face fell. His face always showed what he felt and this time was no exception. He laughed. "Forget it," he said. "It was a stupid thought."_

_It was pitiful to watch him act like he didn't care when he so obviously did. The light that was in his eyes there nearly two minutes before was muted and faded now, clouded by hurt._

_Lola swallowed. It was pity, she told herself. Nothing else. She was only pitying him, when she did this. She leaned forward and lightly kissed him on the lips. Surprised, Popo waited for almost a second, before returning it. He wasn't sure what to make of it. It felt confusing, but he decided, when she pulled away, that he liked it. And he wished it could have lasted longer._

_Lola sat back. "Well?" she asked._

_Popo smiled shyly. "Well," he responded breathlessly. "Wow."_

_"Yeah. Wow," Lola responded, but a frown was forming on her face. She turned to Popo and said, "Hey, please don't tell anyone about this, Popo. It would kill me."_

_Popo's smile faltered but still stuck on his face. "What do you mean?" he asked, turning to her as well._

_"I just wouldn't like people knowing that I do this... As a favor."_

_"As a favor? What do you mean?"_

_"You were obviously so disappointed, Popo," Lola responded, flicking her glossy black hair backward in a careless manner. "I didn't want to see you pout, so I mean. I did you a favor."_

_"A favor. You threw me a bone," Popo said. A strange sort of madness was gripping him. "I was a beggar to you?"_

_Lola stammered, "Not exactly. I just wanted to make you feel happy. I doubt you'd ever been kissed before."_

_Popo was silent for a moment. "Well congratulations, Lola. You really know how to make a guy feel like an ass."_

_Lola knew that whatever she'd said was a big mistake. She could hear it in Popo's voice. "Popo, I..."_

_But he stood up from the couch, and when he faced her, there was a hard glint to his eyes. One that she'd never seen on him when he looked at her. Her heart stuttered. "Do me a favor, Lola. Don't do me any more favors. I became your friend because I wanted to. The least you could do was do the same to me." He stalked off._

_Lola wanted to call out, "I didn't mean it that way!" But she caught herself in time. Because although Popo was the only guy to ever see her for who she was, he also scared her for this very reason._

_And she wasn't ready to reconcile with him. Or herself yet._

**X.X.X**_  
_

**Lawl. Has it really been 2 years? More than 2 years? I suppose so. So enjoy this colossally large amount 7.3k words if any of you still read this. Sigh. Yes, it's really over 7,000 words long. It is a huge amount for me.**

**And if you have to thank anyone for inspiring my lazy ass to update, thank Tune4Toons who is probably one of the most amazing writers I've seen here in a long time. The beginning of this, the weird part that Young Link goes through before he wakes up, was inspired by her one-shot, "Gone." It's really what made me want to write this again.**

**I can't promise any quick updates after this. Can't promise any good writing either. I haven't even proofread this because I know that if I delay this chapter any longer, I'm never going to post it. And I really want to finish this. It's sad how it's already 2012 and I haven't. Can I cry? Let me go cry in peace before studying.**

**There are several things I'd like to address. I was rereading my chapters again, trying to remember what I wrote and I realized that I suck at continuation here. For example, I included Wind Waker Link as a separate character here in the beginning chapters, when he is in fact, not. You all obviously know that Young Link has transformed into the Wind Waker Link that is featured in Brawl. I wrote this before Brawl came out, and when I realized Young Link changed to Toon Link, that I had to incorporate it in. So yeah. Also Nana is younger than Lola and Lyle's eyes are really blue (I know I mentioned three different eye colors here but blue is really his color)**

**Please review. Feedback is welcome. Phew. Crys is out!**


	18. A More Permanent Transition

"Nana, do you know why you're here?" Master Hand asked. The floating hand was in his office, his fingers floating in a relaxed way. Nana thought he didn't seem too angry but she could be wrong. It was often hard to correctly interpret how Master Hand felt due to the lack of facial expressions. His voice was usually monotonous, unless he beyond angry. The last time Nana had seen him raise his voice was almost half a year ago, when Roy had somehow managed to set the Dining Hall on fire and the board members of Super Smash were due in a couple of hours for inspection. Luckily, Mario managed to put it out, but there was still a lingering smell of smoke. Roy claimed that ever since his punishment with Master Hand, nothing had ever tasted the same.

Nana forced herself not to look away from Master Hand. "Um...?" she said. She could have slapped herself for not being articulate. Nana _did_ have an inkling of why she was here, but she would rather die than admit it freely. Well, dying was perhaps an exaggeration. She would rather do Bowser and Ganondorf's laundry than admit why.

Master Hand sighed. "There are two things I would like to discuss with you. Two things, and that is all. One concerns the younger Link." The hand paused for effect, during which Nana decided to marshall all her counter arguments into one angry defense. "I believe you two aren't exactly getting along."

Nana arched an eyebrow. "Really? What gave you your first clue?" she asked.

Master Hand paused again, but this time it was like he was trying to decide how best to proceed. "Nana, there is no need for sarcasm. I am only trying to help you through this. I'm trying to help you understand how to get along better with him."

Nana sighed, running a hand over her face. "Yeah, you and everybody else. Listen Master, if you're going to suggest any groveling and begging for forgiveness, it isn't going to happen. That's what _he_ wants and I won't give it to him. If anybody should apologize, it should be him! He's always had it in for me!"

"I'm not asking you to beg for forgiveness, I'm asking you to look at this situation in a different way. You two have shared some good times together, haven't you?"

Nana opened her mouth. She was going to say that no, she _never_ had shared any moment with him that had been anything less than pleasant but then she thought back to everything that had happened recently. The little pranking war they'd started with each other. Rescuing Lola, and all of Icicle Mountain. And as usual, her thoughts always strayed back to how they'd reacted in Lola's destroyed house. They were a perfect team and then she thought back to when she pulled him out of the pond and she thought he had died...

...They weren't pleasant memories, but in some way, Nana was forced to admit...

"No," she managed to say, but it seemed like she was saying it to herself more than to Master Hand this time.

"I get the feeling that you are not being entirely truthful," Master Hand said, and she could feel him frowning slightly when he said it. "Regardless, this little bickering of yours needs to stop soon otherwise I will be forced to expel one of you because of the mess and stress you are creating with the other Smashers, and currently, Young Link's popularity is higher than yours so you can see why I've called you in here and not him."

Nana's mouth fell open. She couldn't believe this! "Are you threatening me?"

"Well if you must be so blunt about it, then yes, I suppose I am."

Nana gripped the arms of her chair hard, forcing herself to stay calm. This wasn't fair at all! "He provoked me at his party, Master Hand! You didn't hear what he said!"

"I don't care. Do you think that Young Link is having a great time right now, Nana? It's obvious that he provoked you. There wouldn't be any other reason you decided to display rather aggressive behavior towards him. But think about everything he's been through so far. He's undergoing a strange transformation that he doesn't understand."

Nana narrowed her eyes. "So does every other boy out there. It's called _puberty_. It doesn't excuse him from being a jerk!"

Master Hand's fingers stilled, which Nana took as a bad sign. She noted that Master Hand became unnaturally still when his patience was being tested. "You know what I am talking about, Nana. His appearance has changed but his spirit is still the same. I would have thought that you would have come to this conclusion by yourself, but it seems as if you are still too young to understand that Young Link is desperately trying to cling to his older self. I am afraid this is no longer possible, which is why he's struggling. I know it does not excuse his rude behavior, but it _does_ explain why he's doing it. And I hope this understanding will make you a lot more sympathetic towards his plight."

"Wait," Nana said abruptly. "What? You're saying that Young Link is _really_ changing?"

"You only need look at his appearance to see that it's drastically changed. I assume you've heard of his world and how a new Link arises every time there is a great threat to his land."

"Well yes, but..."

"The water has transformed him. He can no longer revert back to that which he once was."

"So he will never grow into Link?"

"Well he will grow into _a_ Link if he survives his ordeals in his country... But not the grown up Link that lives here."

Nana was silent as she processed all of this. She wasn't sure what to think. She did pity him a little bit, but at the same time, she wasn't prepared to admit it aloud. To buy herself some time to consider it all she said, "You said you had something else to tell me."

"Ah yes, it's about your friend Lola."

_Somehow, she always manages to find a way to crawl into whatever I'm doing at the time..._ Nana thought darkly to herself. "What about her?"

"This might seem troubling to you, but for the past month, Lola's work ethic has been decreasing. She still has her own strong fan base of course - The preteens who wish to view another girlish preteen as a model - But you and I both know that she was never a great fighter. It seems like her fighting is getting worse. If this persists, I'll have no choice but to get rid of her, as I _am_ thinking about transferring new members in. I need you to work with her and make sure she does well in the upcoming weeks."

Nana blinked. "So you're really doing it then? Getting new Smashers?"

Master Hand sighed. "Yes, I must. The industry is evolving and I think Smash Brothers needs new faces. This is why it is important to make sure that you work hard and not get into any trouble so that you can stay. I would hate to let go of you, Nana."

Nana felt her insides grow warm. It was a compliment that the normally withdrawn, polite hand had said that about her. "I'll do my best, Master Hand," she said quietly.

"Good, you may go."

Nana bowed before she left, feeling more respectful of her boss than she'd ever had before. Outside his office, she began to think again about everything that had happened. Master Hand was finding new Smashers? What did that mean for her? Nana knew she and her brother were never popular and now that their fighting styles were separate, they were even less popular. And coming from such an obscure place like Icicle Mountain would also not do her any favors. She sighed. Doubtless the swordsmen would stay as well as Zelda, Peach and Samus. They had always been the most popular.

"Watch where you're going!" Roy said, as Nana turned a corner and almost bumped into him.

"Oh, hullo Roy," she said. She felt a twinge of annoyance upon looking at his face. He had no idea that he was going to be saved. He could burn the Dining Room as many times as he wanted and all his fanbase would make sure he stayed, while she, Nana Glace would be kicked out no matter how hard she worked. She hoped Popo would make it. Somebody needed to keep them alive.

"Did somebody die?" Roy asked her.

"Wha-? No," Nana snapped. "Mind your own business."

And as she stalked the corridor, she realized that Roy was not likely to pay attention to her command. He was following her, and unfortunately for Nana, she was shorter and therefore not as fast as he was.

"Seriously, what's wrong? Did you get expelled for what happened at the party?" Roy asked.

Nana rolled her eyes. "No, I just got a warning," she said.

"Oh..." Roy said. "Well that's not too bad. Master Hand can be a softie sometimes, can't he?"

"Yeah, I suppose."

"Aw, Nana come on. Lighten up! At least you won't get expelled! You didn't even get suspended!"

"Yeah, I guess that's something," Nana responded vaguely. _I guess I'm going to have to give it my all to make sure I make it..._ she decided. It wouldn't hurt to try to get her rankings up. She knew that after her last battle, she had dropped three places and was now below Mewtwo. There could simply be no more time to dwell on other things and that included Young Link, Lola and Popo, the latter of which she still needed to apologize to._  
_

It would be hard to get her mind off of Young Link though... She once again thought about the way he'd opened her eyes and she'd discovered they were pitch black.

"Hello? Earth to Nana?" Roy said, waving a hand in front of her face.

"What?" she said, blinking rapidly.

"I was just asking if you wanted to come along with Link, Marth and I? We're meeting up with Marth's cousin, Ike. He just moved here."

"Er..." Nana thought. Most likely, Marth's cousin was probably handsome. All people from Fire Emblem were attractive. It seemed to be some sort of requirement to live there. "I'm actually heading towards the training grounds to get some practice in. Why don't you ask Lola though? She'd definitely be interested."

Roy shrugged. "Suit yourself." And with those words, the redheaded swordsman left.

Nana sighed, watching him depart before heading towards the training field. Her next match would be with Falco, which was in three days. Falco happened to be a great fighter. She knew she didn't have a chance of winning, but it would be great if the crowds saw that she had greatly improved.

She closed her eyes and with a determined look on her face, she increased her pace, desperate to reach her goal.

**X.X.X**

"Have you seen Nana anywhere?" Lola asked Ness who was lounging in the library with Popo and Young Link. Ness and Popo were trying to finish their Earth Studies homework, whereas Young Link was button mashing on his DSi with a concentrated expression on his face. "I can't find her.

"She's not here," Ness responded vaguely. Lola looked over his work, reading it. She smirked slightly.

"Obviously," she said. "It's just as obvious as the fact that England was the most well known for its imperialism, not China." She glanced at him, her smirk deepening into a playful grin. "I thought you were supposed to be smart."

Ness glared at her and viciously began to erase his last sentence, eventually tearing the page apart. "Now look what you've done! I've been trying to do this for the past hour and now I have to start over!"

Young Link and Popo snickered slightly; Ness was quite the perfectionist when it came to his work. The more frustrated and heated he became, the more horrible he did at his work.

"Why are you looking for her in the first place?" Young Link asked, once his amusement subsided.

Lola regarded him with a cool expression on her face. Now that he was no longer her boyfriend and she and Nana seemed to be getting along better now, Lola was now taking Nana's side after their tussle. _Girls,_ Young Link thought irritably, s_o loyal... until you do one thing to upset them. _He thought back to Lola's vague accusations towards him and Nana and tried his best to assume a nonchalant expression. He was burning inside.

"Not that it's any of _your_ business _Toon_ Link," she began, mockingly using the term that Nana used on him. "But I wanted to take her to shopping with me. We're going to find the perfect dress for the Winter Ball. Since the theme is masquerade, I'm sure it won't be hard to find an old fashioned ball gown for the both of us."

The boys snorted. "Since when does Nana want to go to the ball?" Young Link asked, speaking for all of them. "I don't think I've ever seen her wear a skirt even." Well, there was that _one_ time he'd seen her with a towel wrapped snugly around her body, but that hardly constituted as a dress. He tried not to think about it too much. He felt funny when he did and he wasn't sure if it was good or bad.

Lola shrugged and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "People change," she said. "She's coming to the ball, you know. I'm already looking at potential dates."

Young Link's DSi almost slipped from his fingers. "What?" he almost shouted. Then he realized how he sounded so he said in a library appropriate voice, "It's a hopeless case, Lola. It's never going to work. You think you can just slap some make up on her and it'll all be good?"

Lola glowered at him. She was about to respond but then Popo cleared his throat. "Don't be stupid, Lola. My sister isn't dating anybody. She's too young."

When she looked at him, she saw that he wasn't looking back at her and her heart plummeted slightly. "She's exactly your age," she responded, and with that sentence her heart began to hammer again, the way it had been ever since that fateful day she'd read that silly fashion magazine aloud to him.

"Yeah and you don't see me going out with the first person I see," Popo responded shortly. Was it her imagination, or was there some sort of double meaning behind what he'd just said? "Leave her alone."

Lola swallowed painfully. It seemed like every sentence Popo said tore at her insides. Every time he should have looked at her but didn't, she felt worthless. She supposed this was her fault. If she hadn't opened that can of worms that last day they were at Icicle Mountain...

...But what was she supposed to do? It was clear that Popo was not boyfriend material. He was not tall, he didn't have sky blue eyes like Pit or Young Link once did, and he wasn't exciting and unpredictable. He was just Popo, the kid that she could always predict and understand. He was her dear friend and it wasn't possible that he could be with her in _that_ way.

So why was it so painful for her to see him this way? She thought it was because she felt merely guilty for what she'd done to him, but this pain was worse than that.

She didn't say anything for one long moment. It was a mistake to be here in the first place. "Just... if you find her, tell me," she said. Without the grace and elegance that she'd practiced so hard to become, Lola exited the library, her shoulders slightly hunched, as if the disappointment was so great that it was showing visibly.

Young Link and Ness watched her depart and when they were certain she'd left they turned back to Popo. "Dude, that was harsh," Ness said.

"Yeah, did something happen?" Young Link asked, finally shutting his DSi off. He was sick of trying to capture Lugia. He'd try some other time when he didn't feel like smashing it against the wall.

Popo shrugged and turned to his homework. "I don't want to talk about it." Even though Ness and Young Link were his best friends, he was too ashamed to admit what he was going through. He was certain that he loved Lola and he didn't care that he was just some stupid thirteen year old on the cusp of turning fourteen. He knew what the feeling was. The problem was that he was scared that Young Link and Ness would laugh it off as just some dumb crush or they would think he was being too girly or something. If they didn't laugh at that, then they would laugh at the fact that he'd been friendzoned.

Even if he decided to tell them what happened between Lola and him, he wasn't sure where to begin. Could he start off by explaining how they'd grown up together and how he had always been there, how he had always felt the need to protect her especially after Lyle's death? How was he to explain the mounting hope, the acceptance that Lola would somehow always be his, until the day she declared that she would never be? How was he to describe the anger, the jealousy, the white hot hatred towards her for just dismissing him like that and then the subsequent emptiness afterward. How was he to describe how horribly it hurt to just look at her, to just talk to her but that he couldn't help himself in the end? How could he describe the slow perpetual ache within him, the one they all called a heartbreak?

So he didn't try.

Except...

"Was it Lola?" Ness asked.

"It's nothing," Popo muttered as he scribbled the final concluding thought to his essay. But he was weakening. If they kept pressing him, he was sure that he would eventually spill the beans.

"You don't really think that Nana's too young to date, do you?" Young Link asked aloud. "I mean," he said hastily when Ness shot him a curious look. "She _is_ your age after all."

Popo was very much relieved and grateful that Young Link had changed the subject. "Let me put it this way, I guess I wouldn't mind if she started dating, but I feel like she doesn't know what she wants. She relies too much on instinct and what _feels_ right to her, rather than thinking about what's best for her. So yeah, I guess she's too young."

Ness frowned. "You can't just write her off like that. Maybe Nana's a lot smarter about this stuff than you think. Besides, liking something deals very strongly with what you feel for the other person."

"Yeah, but what if what she likes ends up hurting her?" Popo asked. "I don't want her to be hurt." He didn't want anyone to end up like how he was feeling right now.

"You can't keep protecting her forever. Eventually she's going to be hurt someday, no matter how hard you try to prevent it. Your job isn't to protect her, Popo. It's to be there for her when she actually messes up and gets hurt."

Popo contemplated that for a moment. "I suppose your right. I still don't like it though," he said.

"Nana's tough, she can take care of herself," Young Link said suddenly. "You don't need to worry about her."

Popo and Ness stared at Young Link. Was the young Hylian actually paying her a compliment after all these years?

Young Link noticed their strange stares and got up hastily, preparing to depart. "I'm just saying..." he said. And because they didn't say anything further he swiftly changed tack. "I'm getting out of here. I can't stay here for more than three hours at a time."

"But you didn't even do any homework," Ness pointed out.

"Who cares? A library is a library," Young Link said, before leaving.

Popo watched him leave. "Articulate, that one is. 'A library is a library.'"

Ness snorted.

**X.X.X**

As soon as Young Link was outside the library and heard the doors close, he leaned against the wall and smacked his hand against his forehead. "Stupid..." he muttered to himself again and again. He couldn't help himself asking about Nana. He knew he shouldn't do it - but it had become almost an addiction to find out more about her. Where was she, what was she doing, where was she going?

Would Lola succeed in getting her the perfect man?

Young Link bit his lip at the thought of a faceless, tall and immaculately dressed stranger whirling Nana around in a dress and then gave up entirely. He just could not picture Nana in a dress and with make up. It still irritated him to think about it though.

And then he laughed out loud. Because honestly, Nana couldn't dance.

It made him feel better, but only by a margin because Lola would probably find somebody who could overlook that. And who wouldn't? Nana was somebody whose faults didn't matter, whose faults made her a great person.

And actually, it was a little cute that she couldn't dance...

"You're really weird," Bowser growled, who had been staring at Young Link for the past two minutes with interest. Young Link mustered up the coldest stare he could manage at the moment, but Bowser seemed unfazed. "You first looked frustrated, then you looked downright angry, and then you started laughing and _then_ you looked sad again and _then_ you looked slightly happy."

"Go away," Young Link said, narrowing his eyes.

"I have every right to be here!"

Young Link gritted his teeth in frustration. "Fine, then I'll leave!" It was the absolute worst to be counted as part of the youngest Smashers. Nobody took you seriously. Young Link absolutely could not wait until he grew up. People seemed to listen to Link a lot more than they listened to him. Young Link had waited his whole life, knowing with full certainty that he'd end up as Link and the thought had made him beyond happy. Young Link had always looked up to his older self. But now he wasn't so sure that Link was his destiny anymore.

The thought of it had been tearing at Young Link's insides more than anything else lately. It was frightening to not know your own future. He had no idea how everybody else did it. It was like navigating through the sea's choppy waves, with no land in sight and the only thing you had was a talking red rowboat.

He blinked. Where had that last thought come from?

"There you are, kiddo!" It was Captain Falcon. "I've been looking all over you."

Of course it would be practically impossible to have any time alone. "What is it?" Young Link asked wearily.

"Master Hand asked me to deliver this to you. Said it was important." Captain Falcon waved an envelope in front of the young elf's face who attempted to snatch it but Falcon's hand shot upward. "Uh, ah, ah," he said in a sing-song voice, shaking his head. "I'll only give it to you if you tell me what it's about."

Young Link rolled his eyes. "Didn't anyone ever teach you to keep that abnormally big nose of yours out of other people's business?"

Captain Falcon tapped his chin thoughtfully with a free finger. "Yeah, but I chose not to follow it. And besides," he said, as if this was the most important part. "My nose isn't big."

"That's debatable. Now give me the envelope."

"Master Hand _never_ delivers notes. I know it's important, and I've tried to open it by myself."

"Figures," Young Link muttered to himself. Captain Falcon _would_ try already to peek into its contents. "But what happened?" he said, forcing himself to be patient.

"It wouldn't open no matter how hard I tried! It must be sealed by some magic that only its recipient can open!"

"Master Hand must've known you're a sneak," Young Link told him as if this was the only available reason why it was sealed with a bit of magic.

"Well, I won't give it up until you promise to tell me what it's about."

Knowing no other way around this, Young Link blew out a frustrated breath. "Fine. I'll tell you what it's about."

"Pinky swear?"

"No!" Young Link yelled. "I gave you my word."

"Good, and you better!"

Young Link didn't reply, he eagerly tore open the envelope. Like Captain Falcon said, Master Hand rarely delivered envelopes; when he did, it was usually because he had important news or, in most cases, to inform a Smasher that they'd made it to the final rounds of the tournament. Young Link wondered whether he made it. He knew it was impossible - He'd been performing well lately, but not _that_ well to get in.

He quickly scanned the contents before realizing that the handwriting was not Master Hand's and that the words were not his boss's either. He felt his head grow cold and he suddenly felt light headed.

"What is it?" Captain Falcon asked, noting the boy's rapidly paling face.

Young Link did not reply; he was too busy rereading the letter.

"Well?"

Young Link finally looked up, the blood completely drained from his face. His eyes were blank as they regarded Captain Falcon's. "I have..."

"Yes, go on...?"

"I have a sister."

**X.X.X**

**For all WindWaker fans, you probably all anticipated this as this version of Link does indeed have a family - A sister and grandmother to be precise. But hey, if you've never played it, then there you go!**

**This was a lot shorter than the last one and not much happened, but I think this chapter needed to happen to progress some of the story and get it flowing. So here you are. I think we should have about 6 chapters left to go, max. If I don't decide to prolong it, that is. (I doubt that'd happen... considering this has been going on for years!)**

**Don't hesitate to tell me what you thought about it!**


	19. To Find Yourself

"Sloppy," Fox announced, making Nana's heart drop.

"But I've been training nonstop for two days!"

Fox sighed, shutting his communications down. "Nana, training for only two days won't significantly increase your battle skill. It takes months, years even." He took a seat next to the sweating girl and for a moment, with his elbows on his knees, he watched Donkey Kong bellow something that sounded foul towards Yoshi, his training partner. Then he grabbed a hand towel next to the bench and tossed it to Nana who barely managed to catch it. "It's hard to adjust to a different set of battle skills. Before, you were dependent on Popo, and he was on you. Now that you both are independently fighting..." He trailed off.

Nana wiped at her face, pushing back the sweat-soaked hair from her face. She had recruited Fox, one of the best fighters who also had similar moves to Falco, in the hopes of winning her match against the avian but it seemed like she'd barely made a dent in practices. What was more was that she felt sore all over her body. _I've worked so much that it's going to be counterproductive at the actual match... _Nana thought to herself. Her legs ached with every step and whenever she sat down, it would take all her willpower not to scream in pain.

"What about one more match?" Fox asked, watching her expression. He could see that her lips were turned down slightly and thought that maybe all she needed was to gain some confidence. Maybe if he just let her win one practice match...

Nana stood up with some difficulty, wincing at the way her muscles burned. "Sorry, but Lola's dragged me into shopping with her," she said, rolling her eyes. The feminine Ice Climber had made a bet with Nana saying that Nana probably didn't even know how to apply mascara properly and that, if she couldn't, she would be forced to go ball gown hunting with Lola.

Fox made a face. "I don't envy you," he said.

"Yeah," Nana said. "Tell me about it."

**X.X.X**

The place was called Outset Island and Young Link was having difficulty getting used to it. Actually, that wasn't quite right. Everything felt familiar even though he was staring at it for the first time. Young Link had never seen the sea before yet somehow he felt as though he was greeting an old friend when he first laid his eyes on the tiny island. There were long cliffs, and tiny hut-like houses scattered throughout the place. Pigs ran everywhere and it seemed like the island had been split into two. The only thing that joined the two tiny pieces of land were two bridges; one that connected the two cliffs and one that lay just above the water.

He stared at the note in his hand.

_Dear Link_

_I'm writing to you as a reminder. You promised that you would come back or would write but you didn't and that makes me sad. Have you forgotten about us?_

_Love your sister,_

_Aryll_

At first, Young Link had thought it was a joke. But he realized that Master Hand would not pass this information along to Young Link if it were merely a joke. It had to be authentic. He had even ran to Master Hand who had confirmed that the note was indeed his family and informed him that if he'd like to, he could visit them.

It only took a day for Young Link to decide. If anything, he could always return to Smash Mansion if he decided that he didn't like him. He stared at what she'd written. _Us..._ There had to be more of his family. For the first time, Young Link felt a great tug at his chest. He had a real mother and a real father. His hands shook just thinking about it. He had never imagined how they would look like and now he might even be meeting them!

"Yo Link?" Tetra asked, her face looking sly as she regarded him. The pirate was a friend of Master Hand's and had agreed to let him come aboard the vessel.

Startled, Young Link looked up at the weatherbeaten face of the ship's captain. She was slightly taller than him, with baggy off-white pants, and her blond hair pulled up in a knot. "Y-yes?"

"We jus' finished docking. You're free to come out anytime." Tetra's nose wrinkled, as she studied the way Young Link's eyes drifted to the floor at her words. He seemed to shrink and her posture softened as she took a seat next to him. "Hey, don' be scared. They're your family an' if there's one thing I know 'bout family it's that they'll never leave you." She looked down at a chain that was tucked into the bright red handkerchief and a small smile appeared on her face.

It was all very well and easy for her to say. She probably grew up knowing her parents. Young Link stole a glance at her, and was surprised to see that her features had softened as her fingers touched the chain. He couldn't see what was at the end of it but whatever was hidden was obviously very precious to her. It was strange really, he thought to himself. With that expression she almost looked like Princess Zelda...

...But that was absurd. There was no way a pirate could be a princess. Link snorted, drawing Tetra's attention towards him. She frowned, the tender expression on her face melting away. "What're you laughin' 'bout?"

Yeah, there was no way. Young Link stood up quickly. "Nothing. I guess you're right." He began to climb up the ladder to the outdoors so that he could greet his family.

**X.X.X**

"I still don't understand your aversion towards the dance," Lola said as she stalked down the hallway of Nintendo Mall. She sniffed. "It will be _fun__._"

_No it won't..._ But Nana didn't say that. She was tired of trying to convince Lola that she did not like dresses and dances and make up.

"At least _try_ on a few dresses... Oh look!" Lola squealed suddenly stopping short in front of a rather dark, yet large boutique. "It's Elesa's Electric Fashion! It must have opened while we were on vacation. Come on!" And without waiting for Nana's approval, she grabbed her hand and directed her into the shop.

Electric poppy music blared from within the dark store that was full of dresses. Posters of a model with piercing blue eyes and jet black hair in elaborate poses with zebstrikas as well as cute little emolgas were tacked onto the walls. The other girls who were in the store were clamoring to get any and every dress they could get their hands on.

"I suppose I could go for a dress in here... Yes, perhaps go for something more modern rather than vintage," Lola said. Nana had to strain her ears to hear what she was saying over the loud music. Lola grabbed a slinky black dress that looked more like a long, tight shirt and held it against her. "What about this, Nan?" she yelled over the music.

"Er... very nice," Nana responded.

But Lola jammed it back onto the racks and pulled out a slinky yellow dress, this time one that ended at her knees. "Be right back, I'm going to try this on!"

And with that, she disappeared, leaving Nana alone in the darkness with the strobing music. "Yeah," she said wearily to Lola's retreating back. For a moment, she leaned heavily against the clothing rack, trying to to feel stiff and sore. She wished she had stayed behind for another practice match with Fox.

She glanced at all the harried mothers, bratty teenagers and bored boyfriends and wondered how much Lola would hate her if she decided to leave. Absentmindedly, she took an electric blue dress out that was covered in zippers and winced.

"Like it?" a voice asked and for one heart-stopping moment, Nana thought it was Young Link and dropped the dress. She whirled around, mind blank, and blinked, letting out a sigh of relief.

It was only Pit.

"What are you doing here?" they both demanded at the same time.

"Shopping," they both responded.

"_You_? Shop here?" they both scoffed at the same time.

Pit started to laugh and in relief, Nana began to laugh too. _Why did I think Pit was Link? They look nothing alike and they don't even sound alike!_ Come to think of it, Nana had not seen the Hylian in awhile and for some reason that bothered her.

"Well, not exactly," Pit said. "I came to buy something for a _ah_... _friend _of mine. It's her birthday."

The way he said friend made Nana ask, "A friend?" She waggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Or a _friend_?"

Pit's eyes widened and he held his hands up in protest. "Ew, not like that! Viridi and me? _Never_! Nana, that's disgusting!" Nana began to laugh. She'd seen Viridi in school a couple of times, and even though she wasn't very close to the girl, she didn't think she was as bad as Pit apparently thought she was.

Pit shuddered and in a not so obvious attempt to change the conversation he asked, "So why are _you_ here? You're not actually considering going to the ball, are you?"

Nana shrugged. "I wasn't planning on it, but Lola thinks she can convince me."

Pit blinked at her curiously with his sky blue eyes. "Why don't you want to go?"

She shrugged again. "Dresses and make up and dancing aren't really for me," she muttered.

Pit raised an eyebrow. "How do you know that?"

"I just know!"

"You've tried?"

"No," Nana admitted hesitantly. "But that stuff just seems so boring."

"How can you write something off that you've never even tried? If you're as adventurous and spirited as people say you are, then wouldn't you want to go? Besides, the theme's masquerade, right? Nobody would really even know you were going if you have a reputation to uphold."

"That's assuming I _want_ to go," Nana reminded him.

Pit smiled. "Just _try_ it."

Nana pressed her lips together. "I'll think about it."

**X.X.X**

Young Link stared at the squat, old woman who was supposed to be his grandmother and his sister who was supposed to be Aryll. They in turn stared back at him. Nobody knew what to say.

"Aryll, go fetch some pumpkins from the garden so we can make some soup for your brother," Grandmother said.

Aryll looked like she wanted to protest, but she nodded and a moment later she had slipped out quietly leaving Young Link to look around the house. The place was simple, clean and it smelled like home. He just wasn't sure if it smelled like _his_ home.

"So," Grandmother began.

"This is a nice home," Young Link said.

"Link, I already know you are not yourself," the wrinkly old woman said patiently. With some difficulty she got up and headed towards the tiny kitchen. She set a pot filled with water on top of the fire that had been going on.

"What?" he asked, startled.

"You do not remember me or your sister. In fact, it does seem as if you've changed a remarkable deal despite your appearance being the same," she said, her back turned to him as she sprinkled some spices into the water that had begun to simmer. "However," she said and she sounded puzzled when she said this. "Your soul seems the same as it was before. I can't explain it."

Link bit his lip. It took him only a second before he decided to tell her the truth. "I might as well tell you what happened..." And he began his story. The story of how went to Icicle Mountian and almost died. The whole time, his new grandmother listened with rapt attention.

"And so now I'm like this and I don't know who I am anymore!" Link concluded throwing his hands up uselessly.

Grandmother smiled. "So you are just like everybody else then, my grandson."

Young Link flushed at the way she had said that. _My grandson_. My family. He tried to tell himself that it didn't matter, not really. That the way his grandmother said it so casually did not make his heart beat so painfully he thought it would break. He tried not to let it show, but she somehow seemed to understand what he was feeling because her beady eyes turned soft.

"What do you mean, like everybody else? Nobody else has transformed..."

She smiled. "You don't think people transform every day, Link? You see it all around you. Every day we grow closer to finding out who we are, but do you think anybody ever finds out what that is? Is there even one part to finding yourself? Because every person thinks of you differently. A girl that loves you or that you love might see you differently than your mother or your sister or your grandmother."

Link thought about Nana and his blush deepened.

"Every person in this world is struggling to find themselves. Who are you to think you are any different?"

**X.X.X**

"I'd call today successful, wouldn't you, Nana?" Lola said as they laid their purchases on their beds.

Nana sighed. She couldn't believe she'd been roped into this. "Yeah, I guess." But her voice sounded defeated. "Hey, do you think Popo's going to the ball too?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lola stiffen, her back hunched over her purchases. "How should I know?" she snapped.

Nana raised an eyebrow. "Woah, okay calm down, princess. I was just wondering. You guys are close after all." Come to think of it, Nana thought frowning, she hadn't seen Lola and Popo together these days lately. Almost like they were avoiding each other.

Lola turned around to face Nana and squeezed her eyes shut. "You're going to hate me for what I'm about to tell you."

"What is it?" Nana asked, growing wary. Lola never told her any of the mistakes she had committed, but when she did, Nana realized it was probably a real cause of alarm. "Lola?"

Lola opened her eyes to study Nana for one second. She took a seat on the bed and said it very fast. "Popo and I kissed."

Nana didn't know why she found herself smiling - the truth was, she found Lola and her brother positively repulsive. But she could see how confused and anguished Lola felt about it so she decided to refrain from any comments. Instead, her first comment was, "I thought you were taking Pit to the ball?"

Suddenly it all made sense. Popo's coldness, the way Lola turned awkward and clumsy whenever he was around. Something had happened between them.

To Nana's horror, tears began to spring up in Lola's eyes and she stared at her wistfully. "Oh Nana!" And without warning, she threw herself at Nana and began to sob hysterically.

_Great_, Nana thought dully. She had not signed up for this. After a moment, she awkwardly patted Lola on the head and said, "There, there, I'm sure everything will be fine."

"No it won't! Popo's such a nice guy and I just said some mean things about him and our friendship will never be the same again! What do I do?"

"Well, why did you say mean things about him?"

"Because he's not boyfriend material!"

"Why isn't he boyfriend material?" Nana asked curiously.

"Because he's _Popo_! And I got scared when we kissed. We went too far!" Lola exclaimed through hiccups. Her face had turned red and when she lifted her face up to look at Nana, Nana saw all the mascara and eyeliner running down her cheeks.

Nana raised her eyebrows. "You were _scared_ when you kissed him? Doesn't that mean you _like_ him?"

Lola shrugged. "That's what scares me."

Nana flung her hands up in frustration. "I can't believe I'm even saying this, but if you like him then doesn't that make him boyfriend material?" She thought about Popo being boyfriend material and nearly gagged at the thought. Even nastier was Lola being with him. Disgusting.

Lola stared at Nana. "You're right," Lola said. "It _would_. But I'd be dating under my league!"

Nana felt her insides turn to ice at Lola's words. She knew that Lola was superficial, but in her whole thirteen years of knowing Lola, she had never expected her friend to say something that shallow. She pushed Lola off. "Or maybe," she said. "He's out of _your_ league."

Lola seemed to understand what she had just said and grabbed at Nana's elbow. "Nana, I didn't mean it!" Nana shrugged Lola off and continued on to the door. "Please, I didn't mean it!"

Nana turned around. "This is the last time I'm putting up with your crap, Lola. Your my friend and all, but sometimes I wonder if you know how to filter your _words_. Does that mean I'm out of your league too?"

"Of course not!"

Nana opened the door but before she left she turned around. "You know, the day I had to rescue you and we made up after everything happened, I thought you changed. But I guess you haven't. You're still the shallow, stupid person I knew you as before. You just never care about anybody but yourself, do you?"

And with that, she slammed the door shut, leaving Lola alone.

**X.X.X**

**Dun, dun, dun! Oh noes! More drama! Do you think Nana was being too harsh on Lola? Do you hate Lola? Are you even reading the author's note? And lastly, why am I asking all these questions?! Sorry for a super late chapter. I figure we have about two or three more chapters before the end.**

**Also, again I apologize for the quality of this chapter (LOLOL YAY FOR NOT PROOFREADING BEFORE SUBMITTING). It felt too rushed and again I felt like not a lot happened compared to the stuff that happened before, but I'm on another deadline and besides I needed to wrap up a few things before the final ball scene. I can tell you though that the big Masquerade Ball is in the next chapter! Whether it'll span two chapters who knows XD**

**Thanks for reading, guys! Please leave any sort of feedback you desire. **


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